Miss Universe S’pore 2025 Annika Xue Sager Wasn't Invited To Crown Successor, Only Found Out About This Year's Pageant Finals A Day Before

For most beauty queens, passing on their crown to their successor is a bittersweet moment that marks the end of their reign.

But Miss Universe Singapore 2025 Annika Xue Sager didn't even get that chance.

The 26-year-old took to Instagram yesterday (Oct 14) to express her disappointment at not being invited to the Miss Universe Singapore 2026 grand finals, held the night before.

"Yesterday should've been the day that I passed on my crown at the Miss Universe Singapore finals. Instead, I watched that chapter close without me," she said in a video.

Speaking to 8days.sg, Annika revealed she didn't even know about the finals until people started sending her Instagram posts promoting the event the day before.

"I kept waiting, thinking an invitation might still come, right up until the day itself," she said.

"Looking back, perhaps I shouldn't have assumed I would be included, but I genuinely expected to be part of the occasion."

Annika, who represented Singapore at Miss Universe 2025 in Thailand last November, had been looking forward to her final walk for months.

"I had mentally prepared my speech, my walk and even my dress months in advance," she said.

"I was really looking forward to thanking everyone who had been part of this journey and bringing my year to a meaningful close. That's ultimately why I decided to make the reel."

In the video, Annika donned her Miss Universe Singapore crown and sash to give herself the farewell she didn't get on stage.

She had expected to crown her successor, just as Miss Universe Singapore 2024 Charlotte Chia had crowned her last year. The crown this year went to 22-year-old entrepreneur and model Vion Erico Tan.

"To me, this is a longstanding pageant tradition that goes beyond changes in licensing or ownership," she told us.

Last year's Miss Universe Singapore pageant was organised by Malaysian entertainment and production company Beyond Entity Sdn Bhd. This year's competition is run by HyperLive Entertainment, whose CEO Sean Wong is the new national director.

Annika said she was never informed about the change or how it might affect her as the outgoing queen.

"There was absolutely no communication. I wasn't even aware that a finals or crowning evening was taking place," she said.

She added that even if contractual or image-rights issues had prevented her involvement, they could have had a conversation and found common ground.

Adding to the confusion was uncertainty surrounding Singapore's participation in Miss Universe 2026.

In September, JKN Universe, which owns the Miss Universe brand, said it did not recognise franchise agreements involving Singapore and five other Southeast Asian countries, and that representatives selected under them would not be eligible to compete at the international pageant in Puerto Rico.

The dispute involves Miss Universe Eastern, headed by Thai pageant director Nawat Itsaragrisil, which maintained that it had the authority to appoint franchise partners and that the six countries remained eligible to compete.

Sean was reportedly approached by Nawat in August to acquire the Singapore franchise and has said he is confident Singapore's representative will be able to compete internationally.

Annika can only speculate whether the licensing issue played a part in her exclusion.

"I don't believe that would justify the complete lack of communication. Even a simple message explaining that I wouldn't be involved would have made a difference," she said.

She pointed to the Philippines, where outgoing queen Gazini Ganados crowned successor Rabiya Mateo in 2020 despite a change in franchise operators.

"It shows that these situations can be handled respectfully. Ultimately, it comes down to finding common ground and respecting the tradition."

Upset over AI-generated woman wearing Miss Universe Singapore sash and crown

Annika was also bothered by the use of AI-generated images to promote this year's pageant.

One shared on the official Miss Universe Singapore Instagram featured an AI-generated woman wearing a crown and "Miss Universe Singapore" sash.

"I'm a big fan of AI and the creativity it can offer, but I don't think it was appropriate in this context," she said.

Annika felt the promotional materials came across as "impersonal and rushed", while overlooking Singaporean creatives who could have been involved.

What particularly surprised her was the AI-generated woman's crown and sash.

"Those symbols represent something you earn through the competition, not simply something you can generate with a prompt," she said.

"It takes away from the meaning behind the title."

For Annika, the biggest disappointment was not getting to properly close a chapter that meant so much to her.

"It has been an incredibly intense year, especially with everything that happened during Miss Universe in Thailand, much of which was reported in the news," she said.

The 2025 pageant made headlines after Nawat publicly confronted Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch during a pre-pageant event, prompting several contestants to walk out.

"Since returning, I never really had the opportunity to stand before an audience one last time as Miss Universe Singapore," said Annika.

"My final walk would have given me the chance to express my gratitude, reflect on the year and say goodbye to a title that meant so much to me."

Annika also felt 2025 runners-up Inez Chen and Alexis Kaur should have been acknowledged.

She stressed that her disappointment wasn't directed at her successor.

"This isn't about the new queen — she definitely deserves her moment just as I deserved mine," she said.

Annika also hasn't heard from the new organising team since posting her video.

"I never intended to create conflict; I simply wanted to be honest about an experience that was genuinely hurtful to me," she said.

8days.sg has reached out to HyperLive Entertainment for comment but did not get a response by press time.