ST. LOUIS -- The 1983 Miss Universe pageant, which had been scheduled for Colombia, South America, Thursday was awarded to St. Louis.
City and pageant officials announced the pageant, with representatives of more than 80 countries, will begin in late June with the new Miss Universe to be crowned during a worldwide telecast July 11.
Harold Glasser, president of Miss Universe Inc., said the decision was made to move the pageant to the United States because of adverse conditions in South America.
'Colombia would still want to have the pageant, but it was our decision and we made the decision to move it to the United States,' Glasser said. 'There are problems in all of South America with financial considerations.'
Glasser said Miss Universe officials were aware of St. Louis' interest in hosting the pageant and selected the city over several other U.S. cities, which he would not identify.
Mayor Vincent Schoemehl and St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary joined Glasser in making the announcement.
The finals of the pageant will be telecast live to about 70 million people in the United States and about 600 million in 50 foreign countries.
Joining the officials for the news conference was the reigning Miss Universe, Karen Baldwin of Canada.
Glasser said this will mark only the second time in the last 13 years the pageant will be in the United States. The other time was in 1981 in New York.
