The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Miss USA, Miss Teen USA pageants at Graceland this weekend
This weekend,102 pageant contestants from around the country will converge on Graceland for the national telecasts of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions.
Even the former owner of the mansion on Elvis Presley Boulevard — the entertainer whose filmography includes such titles as “Girls! Girls! Girls!,” “Girl Happy” and “The Trouble with Girls” — might have been humbled by the presence of so many singular and glamorous young women on his home turf.
For viewers at home, the pageants provide three nights of entertainment, suspense and spectacle:
h Streamed live from the Soundstage at Graceland, the MISS USA PRELIMINARY COMPETITION can be viewed starting at 8 p.m. (Memphis time) Nov. 6 on the Miss USA social media channels, including the organization’s Facebook page. On this night, all 51 contestants will take part in swimwear and evening gown competitions. Factored with the impressions the competitors have made on the “selection committee” judges in interviews and other sessions, these scores will determine the top 16 finalists, who will be announced near the start of the Miss USA pageant, three nights later.
Also streamed on Miss USA social media channels will be the MISS TEEN USA competition, which begins at 8 p.m. Nov. 7.
The MISS USA contest airs at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 on the A+E Networks‘ FYI cable channel, which primarily is dedicated to “lifestyle programming.” Pag
eant hosts include former Miss Teen USA turned “NBA on TNT” reporter Allie Laforce and professional football player turned television host Akbar Gbaja-biamila.
Most years, the pageant competitors would have been found all over Memphis in the days preceding the events, greeting fans, taking selfies and striking poses in front of the city’s more significant and recognizable landmarks.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic still at full force, the women’s roles as goodwill ambassadors and de facto nationaltelevision publicists for Memphis will be greatly diminished. Upon arriving at The Guest House at Graceland hotel, each contestant will go into self-quarantine, until she can be tested and shown to be free of the novel coronavirus.
After that, public interaction will be kept to a minimum, with the contestants essentially kept in a pageant “bubble,” in an arrangement similar to the strategy successfully developed for the competitors in the NBA playoffs.
Nevertheless, local tourism officials and Graceland representatives in particular expect the pageants to shine a positive light on Memphis, and to remind travelers that Elvis’ home and most of the city’s other amenities are open for (socially distanced) business.
For the pageants, the close-to-thestage area of Soundstage will be reconfigured for “table seating”; this will not only give the venue a sort of ballroom appearance but will make the relative lack of people less obvious. (Due to coronavirus concerns, public ticketing has been limited to about 25% of the venue’s 2,000-person capacity.) Meanwhile, those who want to “be part of the excitement” (to quote the Graceland website) but don’t want to pay $1,875 for one of the remaining “Platinum Package” passes can opt for a $75 “Live Viewing Party” ticket, which admits the viewer to the adjacent Graceland Exhibition Center, where the beauty action will be displayed on giant screens.
Owned by the Miss Universe Organization, the Miss USA contest was created along with the Miss Universe pageant in 1952 as a glitzier, sexier rival to the then 31-year-old Miss America com
petition. This winner of the Miss USA contest in Memphis will compete for the title of Miss Universe, but the international pageant has yet to set a date for its next event, which likely will not be held until late winter, 2021.
“The Miss Universe Organization and the team at Graceland have created an innovative event that prioritizes the health and safety of the contestants, audience, and crew who will join us in Graceland,” said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, in a statement.
“We look forward to crowning a new Miss USA and Miss Teen USA in the historic city of Memphis. While this year’s competitions will look a little different as we adhere to crucial safety guidelines, we are excited to bring the thrill and excitement of the iconic Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions to homes across America.”