17 April 2005: Nearly forty five days are left for the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on May 30, 2005. We dont yet know who stands the better chance. But we definitely know who is not going to make it. It is Sweden. After unfailingly sending its candidate to the Miss Universe 2-5 pageant for decades, there won't be any Miss Sweden at the beauty pageant this time.

When Scandinavian swimwear firm Panos Emporio last year bought rights to the Miss Sweden contest from TV3, its intention was to elevate the status of the the contest. However, "harassment from feminist organizations" has forced the company to cancel the competition. Thus, in 2005, Sweden will not send a contestant to the Miss Universe pageant for the first time ever.

Panos Emporio announced in last August that the new plans for the competition would be presented during the fall, but after having been "harassed by feminist organizations" the decision to wait was made, Panos said.

“Feminists forced me to cancel. I was surprised that, in a country as far developed and as liberated as Sweden, women’s rights movements receive so much attention in the media regarding an issue like this,” says Panos Papadopoulos, CEO of Panos Emporio.

Panos said that at first he saw the response as negative, but then he realized that Sweden now has the chance to create something new and astonishing in the field of beauty contests, and become a role model for others to follow.

“I am the kind of person to listen to the opinions of others in our society, and I show humility towards them,” Panos said. “Therefore the contest will rest for a year for us to have enough time to look into the possibilities of creating something new that will take Miss Sweden to a whole new level.

This means that in 2005 Sweden will not send a delegate to Miss Universe for the first time. Sweden is one of the very few countries that have never failed to participate in the contest.

BY A CORRESPONDENT