The 2024 Mr Gay World Competition was held in Durham & Tyneside & Northumberland, United Kingdom on August 26, 2024. The reigning Mr Gay World is Paul Carruthers who represented Great Britain.

Mr Gay World
Formation2009
FounderEric Butter
TypeBeauty pageant
Location
  • Worldwide
Membership
18+
Official language
English
OwnerMr Gay World Trust
Websitewww.mrgayworld.com

History

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Before there was Mr Gay World, there was IMG Mr Gay International. Brian Merriman (owner of Mr Gay Ireland) and Tore Aasheim (co-owner of Mr Gay Europe) attended the competition with the European delegation. Merriman and Aasheim decided to create their own international competition.[citation needed]

Brian Merriman invited Tore Aasheim, Morten Ruda (owner of Mr Gay Norway and co-owner of Mr Gay Europe) and Dean Nelson (owner of Mr Gay Canada) to Dublin, Ireland to plan a brand new international competition. They invited Eric Butter (who is the current President and co-founder of Mr Gay World and Noemi Alberto (owner of Mr Gay Philippines) to what was to become Mr Gay World.

Merriman and Ruda bowed out due to other commitments, and the ownership was divided equally between Aasheim, Nelson and Butter. Both Merriman and Ruda stayed involved in the competition as Directors responsible for finding delegates in Europe and Africa to attend the competitions.[citation needed]

After a while Nelson left the competition and left his shares of Mr Gay World to Eric Butter, and later Eric Butter and Tore Aasheim exchanged their shares in Mr Gay Europe and Mr Gay World respectively, making Eric Butter the President and co-founder of Mr Gay World and Tore Aasheim the sole owner of Mr Gay Europe.[citation needed]

Media coverage

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The event explicitly seeks to highlight discrimination against LGBTI people and provide select positive role models. A number of contestants from a number of countries has faced sanctions for their selection or competition, including Nolan Lewis from India,[1][2] Taurai Zhanje from Zimbabwe, Robel Hailu from Ethiopia, former Olympian Chavdar Arsov from Bulgaria, Wendelinus Hamutenya from Namibia and Xiao Dai from China.[3][4]

Mr Gay World is defined as an annual contest for gay men, seeking to establish ambassadors for LGBTQIA+ and human rights, with winners of national contests competing as delegates in a variety of categories. Mr Gay World not a beauty contest and there is no age limit. In an all-inclusive move, Mr Gay World has amended its policy to encompass the male-identifying spectrum within the LGBTQ+ community,” said the organisation in a statement on Tuesday, June 15, 2021*. [5]

Controversy

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In 2014, Mr Gay New Zealand, Mr Gay Australia and a sponsoring skincare company all pulled out of the competition claiming 'bullying, poor living conditions, and inappropriate pressure to hook up with other contestants'. Mr Gay World replied claiming that the two contestants had been removed for alcohol abuse and rule breaking.[6]

In 2015, the winner of the competition, Mr Gay Germany Klaus Burkart, stepped down seven months later citing “personal changes,” and was replaced by Mr Gay Hong Kong.[6]

In 2018, Mr Gay World announced that the 2019 competition will move to South Africa from Hong Kong due to prohibition from local authorities.[7]

In November 2021, Mr. Gay World South Africa 2021 Louw Breytenbach resigned; the title was given to South African Runner-up Bonginkosi Ndima, who then resigned in March 2022,[8][9] and then Mr. Gay World Philippines 2021 Joel Rey Carcasona took over the title Mr. Gay World 2021.

Titleholders

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Year Country/Territory Mr Gay World Location Entrants Ref.
2009   Ireland Max Krzyzanowski Whistler, Canada 19
2010   South Africa Charl Van Den Berg Oslo, Norway 23 [10]
2011   South Africa Francois Nel Manila, Philippines 23
2012   New Zealand Andreas Derleth Johannesburg, South Africa 22
2013   New Zealand Christopher Michael Olwage Antwerp, Belgium 25
2014   United Kingdom Stuart Hatton Rome, Italy 32 [11][12]
2015   Germany Klaus Burkart (Resigned) Knysna, South Africa 21 [13][14]
  Hong Kong Mass Luciano (Assumed)
2016   Spain Roger Gosalbez St. Julian's, Malta 24 [15][16]
2017   Philippines John Raspado Madrid & Maspalomas, Spain 21 [17][18]
2018   Australia Jordan Paul Bruno Knysna, South Africa 21 [19][20]
2019   Philippines John Jeffrey Carlos (Completed)[a] Cape Town, South Africa 24 [21][22]
  Spain Francisco Alvarado (Assumed)[a] [23]
2020   Philippines Leonard Kodie Macayan South Africa | Virtual contest 9 [24][25]
2021   South Africa Louw Breytenbach (Resigned) 10 [26][27]
  Philippines Joel Rey Carcasona (Assumed) [28][29]
2022   Puerto Rico José López Duvont Cape Town, South Africa 8
2023   Guam Troy Michael Smith 11
2024   Great Britain Paul Carruthers Durham & Tyneside & Northumberland, United Kingdom 12

Country/territory by number of wins

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In an extraordinary move, the 2020 finale will be held alongside the 2021 finale, creating an Epic Finale in which two winners will be crowned.

Country/Territory Titles Year
  Philippines 4 2017, 2019[a], 2020, 2021[b]
  South Africa 3 2010, 2011, 2021[c]
  Spain 2 2016, 2019[a]
  New Zealand 2012, 2013
  Guam 1 2023
  Australia 2018
  Germany 2015[c]
  Hong Kong 2015[b]
  Puerto Rico 2022
  United Kingdom 2014
  Ireland 2009
  Great Britain 2024
  1. ^ a b c d Originally crowned 1st Runner-Up. Took over the title after the original winner completed his reign.
  2. ^ a b Originally crowned 1st Runner-Up. Took over the title after the original winner resigned.
  3. ^ a b Resigned

Runner-up

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Year 1st Runner-Up 2nd Runner-Up 3rd Runner-Up 4th Runner-Up 5th Runner-Up
2009 Alexis Cespedes
  Paraguay
Pico Velasco Michel
  Mexico
Ben Edwards
  Australia
Reece Karena
  New Zealand
Darren Bruce
  Canada
2010 Byron Adu
  Australia
Rick Dean Twombley
  Hong Kong
Xindai Muyi
  China
Sergio Lara
  Spain
Not awarded
2011 Michael Kevin Holtz
  United States
Israel Acevedo
  Spain
Leigh Charles
  Australia
Aaron Comis
  New Zealand
2012 Lance Weyer
  South Africa
Remy Frejaville
  France
Kevin Scott Power
  United States
Thom Goderie
  Netherlands
2013 Benjie Vasquez Caraig
  Hong Kong
Matthew Simmons
  United States
Not awarded Not awarded
2014 Kiriakos Spanos
  Cyprus
Robbie Lawlor
  Ireland
Luis Vento
  Venezuela
Bridge Hudson
  Hong Kong
2015 Mass Luciano (Assumed)
  Hong Kong
Tomi Lappi
  Finland
Not awarded Not awarded
2016 Chris Krauel
  Austria
Christian Reyes Lacsamana
  Philippines
Kyle Patrick
  Sint Maarten
Rafael Fagundes
  Brazil
Patrick MacDonald (Withdrawal)
  Australia
2017 Cándido Arteaga
  Spain
Raf Van Puymbroeck
  Belgium
Marco Tornese
   Switzerland
Alexander Steyn
  South Africa
Not awarded
2018 Ricky Devine-White
  New Zealand
Samarpan Maiti
  India
Chen Po-Hung
  Taiwan
João Pedro Carvalho Gonçalves de Oliveira
  Portugal
2019 Francisco Alvarado
  Spain
Oliver Pusztai
  Hungary
Cjayudhom Samiat
  Thailand
Nick Van Vooren
  Belgium
2020 Marek Piekarczyk
  Poland
Vicente Miron
  Mexico
Not awarded Not awarded
2021 Joel Rey Carcasona (Former)
  Philippines
Joshuan Aponte
  Puerto Rico
2022 Tony Ardolino
  United States
Max Appenroth
  Germany
2023 David Allwood
  United Kingdom
Dion Alexander
  Australia
2024 John Bench Ortiz
  Philippines
Poosit Changkaewmanee
  Thailand

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Could India get its own gay pageant? | Vogue India | Culture & Living | Culture". Vogue.in. August 14, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  2. ^ dhruba Jyoti Purkait (July 18, 2013). "I'd rather be a freak than a stereotype: Mr. Gay India 2013". hindustan Times. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "Mr Gay World shakes African perceptions". timeslive.co.za. 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012. Xiao Dai,
  4. ^ "Mr Gay World contest goes ahead in Johannesburg despite threats". The Independent. London: INM. April 9, 2012. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  5. ^ "Mr Gay World opens contest to all men". June 15, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Bell, Niko (June 29, 2016). "Threats, lies and a gay beauty pageant Mr Gay World contestants accuse organizers of bullying, bias and incompetence". xtramagazine.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Chan, Holmes (August 20, 2018). "Mr Gay World cancels Hong Kong event citing concerns over LGBTQ crackdown in mainland". Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Tracer, Dan (August 16, 2022). "Mr. Gay World slaps former winner with gag order and it all sounds messy AF". Queerty. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Igual, Roberto (March 24, 2022). "Bongs Ndima angrily resigns as Mr Gay World South Africa". MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "MR. GAY SA WINS WORLD TITLE IN OSLO". Mamba Online. February 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  11. ^ Towner, Myriah (November 29, 2014). "South Shields dance teacher Stuart Hatton crowned Mr Gay World". ChronicleLive. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Nichols, James (September 2, 2014). "Stuart Hatton, Mr. Gay U.K. 2014, Crowned Mr. Gay World 2014". HuffPost. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Wee, Darren (November 18, 2015). "Mr Gay World steps down due to 'personal changes'". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  14. ^ Salandra, Adam (November 22, 2015). "Mr. Gay Hong Kong Emmanuel Mass Luciano Crowned Mr. Gay World". LOGO News. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Richens, Tony (April 23, 2016). "Mr Gay World 2016 Winner - Roger Gosalbez from Spain". Gay Nation. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "Spanjaard Roger Gosalbez Pitaluga wint Mister Gay World 2016". winq.nl (in Dutch). April 24, 2016. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  17. ^ "PH bet John Raspado wins Mr Gay World 2017". Rappler. May 11, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  18. ^ Villareal, Daniel (May 26, 2018). "John Fernandez Raspado Reflects on His Year Spent as Mr. Gay World 2017". Hornet. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Schuessler, Bobby (May 29, 2018). "Meet the Hot Aussie Who Just Won Mr Gay World 2018". Out. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  20. ^ Jones, Jesse (May 28, 2018). "Jordan Bruno becomes the first Australian to win Mr Gay World". Star Observer. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Lotto Persio, Sofia (May 5, 2019). "Filipino businessman Janjep Carlos crowned Mr Gay World". PinkNews. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  22. ^ "Philippine bet Janjep Carlos wins Mr. Gay World 2019". GMA Entertainment. May 6, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "In an extraordinary move, the 2020 finale will be held alongside the 2021 finale, creating an "Epic Finale" where two winners will be crowned". Instagram. May 10, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Requintina, Robert (October 17, 2021). "PH bet crowned Mister Gay World 2020". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  25. ^ "The Philippines' Kodie Macayan wins Mr. Gay World 2021". ABS-CBN News. October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  26. ^ Ermac, Raffy (November 8, 2021). "Meet the South African Hunk Who Won Mr. Gay World 2021". Out. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  27. ^ Rogers, Destiny (November 6, 2021). "31-yr-old South African Louw Breytenbach Mr Gay World 2021". QNews. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  28. ^ de Wee, Naledi (December 30, 2021). "Joel Rey Carcasona replaces Louw Breytenbach as Mr Gay World 2021". The South African. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  29. ^ Cooper, Alex (December 21, 2021). "Mr. Gay World 2021 Resigns After Contract Dispute". Advocate. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
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