Miss World Candidate Withdraws From Competition Over Vaccine Requirement

Dilay Willemstein, who was named Miss World Netherlands in July, has elected to not represent her country at the Miss World pageant because she opposes getting a COVID-19 vaccine in order to travel to the December 16 competition.

The model announced her decision on Tuesday to the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. Regarding the vaccine, she said, "I am not ready for it. It would not feel right. I don't know if I will ever take it."

Since the pageant will be held in Puerto Rico, Willemstein, 21, would have been required to get the vaccine before boarding a flight to the country. According to her interview with Algemeen Dagblad, she didn't know about the vaccine mandate when she competed in the Miss World Netherlands pageant.

"Straight after [the pageant], we were told that we would have to be vaccinated to enter the [Miss World] contest in December," Willemstein told the paper.

A spokesperson for Miss World Netherlands confirmed Willemstein's decision to the website Dutch News on Tuesday evening. The site reported the runner-up in the Miss World Netherlands pageant, Lizzy Dobbe, will take Willemstein's place in Puerto Rico.

"This is my choice at the moment. I stand behind that. I think I would have regretted more if I had done something that I actually don't feel comfortable with," Willemstein told Algemeen Dagblad of her decision. "The day I made the choice, it felt really bad. But I like to look ahead. This door is closing, but new doors will open for me."

Puerto Rico recently announced that as of September 17, private and public events wishing to accommodate a capacity of 100 percent will require evidence of vaccination. Venues can operate at 50 percent capacity if the operators choose to accept a negative COVID test taken within the last 72 hours in lieu of proof of vaccination.

Non-vaccinated travelers arriving on international flights into Puerto Rico must provide evidence of either a PCR molecular or antigen COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival. However, according to Willemstein, Miss World contestants were told they would be required to be fully vaccinated for the pageant.

Puerto Rico will be the first Spanish-speaking country to host the Miss World international pageant in the event's 70-year history. The completion will be held at San Juan's José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.

The Puerto Rican newspaper The Weekly Journal reported in September that the pageant's promoters project Miss World 2021 to reach a global audience of around 2 billion people through television channels and social networks.