Miss Universe Belize Bought by El Salvador-Based Organization
The Miss Universe Belize Foundation has new owners after the franchise was sold to an organization in El Salvador earlier this year. The change in ownership was made earlier today in a press release from the foundation, which explained the previous franchise owners had planned to step back after 2025 and return in 2027, but Miss Universe ultimately granted the franchise elsewhere. Today we spoke with former Miss Universe Belize Director, Destinee Arnold, for more details on situation and hat that means for the future of Miss Universe Belize. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Less than three years after new leadership took over the Miss Universe Belize franchise, it’s changing hands again, this time going to an El Salvador–based organization that secured the bid earlier this year. Under former titleholder Destinee Arnold, Belize sent two contestants to the international stage, marking a renewed presence in the global pageant. But now, Arnold is speaking out, sharing her disappointment as she steps aside and reflects on what this sudden shift means for the future of Miss Universe Belize.
On the Phone: Destinee Arnold, Former Director, Miss Universe Belize
“I feel very heartbroken as everyone who knows me and who has encountered me throughout my work with the foundation knows that this was a passion project. I did this purely to promote pride in Belize and to expose our creatives and our businesses to the international world on that stage for the most highly coveted crown, internationally Miss Universe. And to have that taken away, and I’ll say temporarily is very disheartening, but I’m not giving up hope. I still have fight left in me, and I have the ability to still try to obtain it again in 2027. And that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
Last year’s pageant controversy pushed the Miss Universe Belize Foundation to consider stepping aside. They told the Miss Universe organization they planned to take a break but asked for a heads-up if others showed interest. That didn’t happen. The franchise was handed to a new director in El Salvador. Now, Destinee Arnold says she’s ready to fight to bring it back, but she’ll need strong national support.
On the Phone: Destinee Arnold
“That is going to require country support from our creatives, our businesses, and our past sponsors to help me reobtain this franchise in 2027. Keep it on home soil where, we understand the culture, we understand what we want to emulate on that international stage. And because it’s home, there’s a little bit more passion, a little bit more drive, and a little bit more love for it.”
Arnold says it’s not unusual for a Miss Universe franchise to end up in foreign hands, some organizations manage multiple countries at once. But for her, this is bigger than business. She’s now focused on bringing the franchise back home, pointing to the progress her team made and the pride they restored in Belize’s presence on the international stage.
On the Phone: Destinee Arnold
“We have developed an infrastructure that’s being implemented across the nation in different pageant systems. We came up with the idea of intensives, and now you’re seeing intensives going on even in the Queen of the Bay system. We developed advocacy month, and there’s currently an international pageant that’s taking place in Belize that’s also doing advocacy month this year. So it’s great that community service is becoming the center of what our queens do.”
The new franchise owners are expected to arrive in Belize this week. Britney Gordon for News Five.
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