Evidently Oslo, Norway, was just too big a travel expense for the Westboro Baptist Church, because they sent no representatives there to protest the crowning of South Africa’s Charl Van den Berg, a twenty-six-year-old restaurant manager, as Mr. Gay World. But hey, they’ll be there for Alexander McQueen’s funeral, so all is not lost.

Though at least the Chinese contestant, who attended the global pageant despite authorities shutting down the Mr. Gay China competition there, can stay just a face; China was third runner-up.

But the crowning ceremony is the least interesting of Mr. Gay World. The best parts, of course, are when the guys are stripped down. Like they are for the photoshoots. Here’s Argentina and Italy.

Here’s the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and Brazil:

The boys showing off their national costumes (Mr. South Africa arrives around the 5:00 mark, but all are worth seeing):

And here’s how the show opened:

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