MANSFIELD — The Miss America competition, and the state contests that provide its contestants, have all been postponed until 2021.
The Miss America Organization announced Friday the Miss America 2021 Competition, scheduled for December, is being delayed to next year due to the impact of COVID-19.
“For the safety, health and welfare of the enormous community necessary to make the Miss America competition possible, including participants, volunteers, organizers, and fans, the Miss America Board of Directors has unanimously voted in favor of postponing the Miss America 2021 Competition and has advised the 51 qualifying competitions across the country to do so as well,” the announcement said.
Steven Oliveri, Miss Ohio Scholarship Organization president and executive director, said Friday afternoon the statewide competition will return in June 2021, hopefully at The Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield.
This year’s Miss Ohio was previously postponed until August and was scheduled to be staged at Ashland’s Archer Auditorium when The Ren was not available.
“We will need to work on the dates with The Ren and the Holiday Inn, the Richland Mall and all of the wonderful assets we have in Mansfield,” Oliveri said.
Oliveri said local competition winners will maintain their titles and will compete for Miss Ohio in 2021. Local competitions will be suspended for a year until after the next state competition, Oliveri said.
Miss America Board Chair said the national scholarship competition is being changed by COVID-19, like other programs, businesses, and institutions.
”At this time, as an organization, our greatest concern is to make sure the thousands of people who are involved in or volunteer for our program are safe. This coming year will be our 100th anniversary for this iconic American institution, and we want to make sure that we take the time to ensure our annual broadcast and the surrounding experiences reflect our time-honored tradition,” Krebs said.
The Miss America Organization is working with the state qualifying organizations to amend rules and eligibility for the 2020 and 2021 competition years.
For more information, visit www.MissAmerica.org.
