A "rigorous vetting process" is currently underway, according to the contest institution, which clarifies that no selection was carried out in the Kingdom.

- The announcement claimed that Saudi Arabia is now going through a thorough screening process to determine who could be awarded the license and designated as the national director. Although the country is not yet officially confirmed to be participating this year, they are being considered.

- "Our approval committee must confirm this before Saudi Arabia can be considered for this prestigious pageant," the institution continued.

- Rumy al-Qahtani, a Saudi model, revealed her participation in the annual pageant of Miss Universe on social media one week before to the organizer's declaration. Read : A Saudi model, to represent Saudi Arabia for Miss Universe 2024

- Al-Qahtani posted the following message (in Arabic) to her over one million Instagram followers: "Honored to participate in Miss Universe 2024."

- As she posed with the Saudi flag and a sash reading "Miss Universe Saudi Arabia," she remarked, "This is the first participation of Saudi Arabia in the Miss Universe competition."

- Last week, after the news, Al Arabiya news reached out to al-Qahtani. Requests for a comment have not been responded to by her yet. The statement made by Al-Qahtani on social media has remained unchanged since Miss Universe made their remark.

The model, who was born in Riyadh, is no stranger to pageants, her Instagram bio lists her as a representative of the Kingdom at events such as Miss Arab Peace, Miss Planet, Miss Middle East, and many more. See Also : An expat and a Saudi citizen jailed for 2 years and penalized with 500,000 riyals each

- The pageant will take place in Mexico this September for the Miss Universe pageant. More than a hundred international competitors will take part.