Miss Continental beauty contest leaves bad taste

THE Miss Continental beauty contest cost Orihuela council at least €61,000 claimed Pepa Ferrando, councillor for the PP conservatives.

Together with €36,000 for a promotion video and a €25,000 cooperation agreement, the final sum would be higher once advertising bills began to arrive, she predicted.

Ferrando particularly wanted to know why the Tourism department’s name appeared on advertisements for the contest when the event at the Teatro Circo was organised by a private company.

The PP councillor recalled that Tourism councillor Pedro Mancebo had promised on September 24 that the Miss Intercontinental contest would not cost the council “one euro.”

His department had also arranged events publicising the presence of the contestants in Orihuela, he declared. Three days later Mancebo claimed that the contest would be seen worldwide.

On the day itself he announced that it was watched by 5 million viewers “even though we now know that it was not broadcast,” Ferrando said.

Ferrando also called on Mancebo to explain why three separate firms could put in bills for just one video, how the payments had been broken down and who owned the businesses involved.