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Entertainment Reporters
The much-hyped Miss Heritage World pageant which was scheduled to take place on Saturday night was postponed on the last minute after the organisers faced serious challenges at the venue.
The pageant which was set for the Rainbow Towers did not take off and fans that had come at the venue went away disappointed.
Security personnel at the venue said they had been told by their superiors to stop people from entering the venue of the contest.
“We received an order to bar anyone who wanted to enter the venue. What I can say is that we saw some people around midday who wanted to decorate the place but they were told to stop. We suspect that the organisers had some unresolved issues with the venue owners,” said one security officer who didn’t want to be identified.
Many people from all walks of life who pitched up were disgruntled.
“Imagine we came here by 6:30pm as planned and no one was here up until 9pm and (Tare) Munzara (director of the pageant) had to apologise to us. During the two-hour period we were confused because we were told that the venue was changed to Platinum Lounge while others said it was at Glass-house in Borrowdale.
“Mind you this is an international pageant, what are we telling the world about Zimbabwe? Something urgent should be done seriously, either to assist these guys or to let ZTA take over,” fumed Kudzai Mapfumo from Highfield.
Pageant director Tare Munzara who showed up at the venue late in the night said they had faced some serious challenges.
“I can confirm that we had booked the venue. There was a third force which we suspect is sabotaging us. The venue refused to open doors for us. I apologize to the world,” he said.
Munzara said they have postponed the pageant to this week.
“We have now rescheduled the tickets for the girls as some were supposed to leave this week. The pageant is on this week and on Monday (today) we are going to have a press conference to update people on developments,” said Munzara.
The pageant had 20 girls from different countries who were set to battle for the coveted crown.
Earlier in a press conference at Stephen Margolis resort centre Munzara highlighted the issue with visa challenges.
“Initially we were supposed to have about 40 girls but some of them faced difficulties in processing their visas hence we ended up with 20 models. We work with what is there,” he said.
Munzara pointed out that he had only a few partners who are supporting the pageant.
“We have been knocking on several doors for corporate support but it was not forthcoming. So we are doing it our way,” he emphasised
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