Spanish beauty contest goes bankrupt

Miss Spain – not the winner, the company that organises the competition – has filed for bankruptcy.

The plight of the hugely popular annual contest, first held in 1929, has been seen as symbolic of the country’s wider financial troubles, which include recession and a jobless rate of 26 per cent.

Miss Spain had already suffered after losing its national TV coverage in 2008, with the last competition held in 2011. That year’s winner, Andrea Huisgen, had to make her own way to the Miss Universe contest.