Mr Gay World is a registered and trademarked annual international competition for
gay men
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...
.
The reigning Mr Gay World is José López Duvont from
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. López is the first Latino winner, and the first winner from the Americas.
Beginnings
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.
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.
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.
Media Coverage
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
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Taurai Zhanje from
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, Robel Hailu from
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, former Olympian Chavdar Arsov from
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, Wendelinus Hamutenya from
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
and Xiao Dai from China.
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*.
Controversy
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.
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.
In 2018, Mr Gay World announced that the 2019 competition will move to South Africa from Hong Kong due to prohibition from local authorities.
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,
and then Mr. Gay World Philippines 2021 Joel Rey Carcasona took over the title Mr. Gay World 2021.
Titleholders
Country/Territory by number of wins
Runner-Up
See also
*
International Mr Gay Competition
References
External links
Official event website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Gay World
Recurring events established in 2009
LGBT beauty pageants
Gay events
Transgender beauty pageants
Annual events