Mr Gay World
Mr Gay World is an annual international competition for gay men. The reigning Mr Gay World are Leonard Kodie Macayan from the Philippines and Joel Rey Carcasona from Philippines. The 2021 Edition marks the first time in history in the pageant that the two Mr Gay World will reign at the same time. 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 owner 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 sole owner of Mr Gay World and Tore Aasheim the sole owner of Mr Gay Europe. Mission statement. Mr. Gay World is defined as an annual contest for gay men, seeking to establish ambassadors for LGBT and human rights, with winners of national contests competing as delegates in  a variety of categories. It is not a beauty contest and there is no age limit. This competition is one of the most publicised gay contests in the world and unashamedly uses the attention it garners to focus attention on the plight of LGBTI people worldwide. The primary purpose of Mr. Gay World is to identify leaders who will take responsibility of being a spokesperson not only in his own community but on a global stage speaking out for equal and human rights. Mr Gay World is a role model and will work on humanizing being gay and/or LGBTI in  the media both LGBTI and mainstream. 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, Taurai Zhanje from Zimbabwe, Robel Hailu from Ethiopia, former Olympian Chavdar Arsov from Bulgaria, Wendelinus Hamutenya from Namibia and Xiao Dai from China. Controversy. 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 2021, Mr. Gay World South  Africa 2021 Louw Breytenbach resigned and Mr. Gay World Philippines 2021 Joel Rey Carcasona took over the title Mr. Gay World 2021.