US child pageant company abandons plans for Cork and Dublin events

The boss of a contentious US child pageant company has abandoned plans to stage contests in Dublin and Cork next month — and will now host just one event in Belfast.

Texas-based Universal Royalty had intended to stage three, glitzy ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’-style events across Ireland in September, as a follow-up from its debut child beauty competition in this country last year.

But a cool response from hoteliers and venue bosses in the Republic has forced company boss Annette Hill to scale back plans to just one event in Belfast on September 20.

Ms Hill said the Belfast pageant would be free for contestants to enter as a goodwill gesture to make up for the chaotic scenes that marred last year’s event, which — after a sudden cancellation by a Dublin hotel — was eventually hosted in a much smaller venue in Castleblayney.

Dozens of angry parents stormed out of there-arranged pageant, furious that organisers had left it to the last minute to inform them of the location of the new venue.

But Ms Hill vowed not to repeat the mistakes of last year and said she would be travelling with a much larger crew to ensure “everything runs smoothly.”

She also claimed her decision not to charge contestants to participate in the Belfast pageant will leave her more than €20,000 out of pocket.

She said: “We’re just holding the one pageant in Belfast, because that’s where most of the interest is from and where we had the best offer.

“I’m planning to hold meet-and-greet events in Dublin and Cork, but the pageant itself will be in Belfast and we have a venue booked and other venues booked in reserve in case anything falls through.

“But I’m very confident there will be no problems this time round. I’m bringing a big crew and security over with me this time and I’m a lot wiser after my experiences last year.”

She added: “It’s going to cost me a lot of money, because it’s a free event. It’s costing me an arm and a leg. I’m coming over for two weeks and once all the flights and the hotel is paid for, I’d say I won’t have much change out of $30,000 (€22,000). But I want to do this for the people of Ireland.”

Last year’s event triggered outrage among children’s watchdogs, who expressed concern about the long-term effects on participating youngsters and said they were being exploited, sexualised and encouraged to be obsessive about their appearance.

The pageant’s return has also been slammed in political circles, with Senator Jillian Van Turnhout insisting in a recent radio interview that child beauty contests have no place in Ireland.