Flower festival preview to welcome Miss Universe bets in Baguio

A mini version of the Baguio Flower Festival would be staged for Miss Universe candidates visiting the summer
capital in January. —EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY — Four giant floats and hundreds of street dancers are providing a preview of this year’s Baguio Flower Festival, or Panagbenga, when reigning Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach takes 26 pageant contestants to this city in January.

Baguio has been selected as one of the key cities to be visited by participants in the 2017 Miss Universe pageant scheduled at the Mall of Asia Arena on Jan. 30.

The Baguio Country Club (BCC) will host the contestants who are expected here on Jan. 18.

“The club and the city’s private sector have to abide by two prescriptions given by President Duterte when he agreed to host the pageant here. First, the government should not spend for the event. Second, it should not cause traffic jams, which discouraged a more public route through downtown Baguio for the Miss Universe parade here,” a BCC statement said.

The private sector would need to raise more than P15 million for hosting the contestants at the BCC and for touring them around the city. —VINCENT CABREZA