On Saturday night, Kleber Alcantara was crowned as Mr Bear Ireland 2019 in the Button Factory as part of Béar Féile.
The night was hosted by the Queen of Ireland herself Panti Bliss who has been hosting the event for eight of the ten years Mr Bear Ireland has been running.
The winner was picked by a panel of judges which included head judge John O’Brien, Mr Leather Ireland: Fionn Scott, Mr World Cub: Zach Roberts, Mr Bear Belgium: Kristian Ivanov and the outgoing Mr Bear Ireland: Dani Heras.
The first contestant of the evening was 29 year old Mr Bear Belfast, Adam.
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Contestant number two, 30 year-old Antonio from Spain, has lived in Ireland for nine years. Next up was John from Wexford, who has been married for three years and 32 year-old Tom who also hails from Belfast.
Contestant number five from Brazil, Kleber Alcantara, said that Mr Bear Ireland has meant a lot to him and he was excited to be competing for the sash.
The competition consists of a number of rounds to decide who will take home the sash.
In the first round, contestants were invited to show some skin. The audience then cheered for each contestant to decide who should go through to the next round. To much fanfare, Tom, Dani and Adam made it through to the next round.
Panti Bliss then asked all contestants why they would like to be Mr Bear Ireland. The judges then made their decision and crowned Kleber Alcantara as Mr Bear Ireland 2019.
Watch the full event here:
Kleber who is originally from Sao Paulo said in his acceptance speech, “This means a lot to me. I decided to enter this competition because after my Mum passed away I was here in Ireland so this is just a little bit of what I can give back to Ireland.
“Ireland has given me a lot. Friends are what my life is all about so I have a lot of friends who came here to support me, I love you all. My heart is now divided by two countries, I’m half Brazillian and half Irish because I love this country. I will do my best to represent Mr Bear Ireland all over Europe.”
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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