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The Miss World pageant is an international beauty pageant founded in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951.

It started as the Festival Bikini Contest, in honour of the recently introduced swimwear of the time, but was called Miss World by the press. It was originally planned as a one-off event. Upon learning about the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, Morley decided to make the pageant an annual event.

Opposition to the wearing of bikinis led to their replacement with more modest swimwear after the first contest. In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the competition. The pageant's popularity grew as the popularity of television grew.

Along with the rival Miss Universe pageant, Miss World has grown to be the most sought after and prestigious title in beauty pageantry. It is the most widely attended and broadcast such event, with over a hundred delegates in competition (Miss Universe, by comparison, welcomes approximately 80 delegates). The road to the Miss World crown is a long one. In the year preceding the global finals, each delegate must win her national title or a specially designated Miss World national preliminary. The annual final is typically a month long extravaganza, with several preliminary events, galas, dinners, balls and activities, culminating in a globally telecast final show in which the field is narrowed to between 15-20 delegates.

The winner spends a year travelling the globe representing the Miss World organization in its various causes. MW has an explicitly altruistic agenda, and has raised over 250 million pounds for various global charities.

Controversies surrounding the Pageant

The Miss World pageant seems to have been the target of many controversies since its inception.

  • In 1970, feminist protesters threw flour bombs during the live event at London's Royal Albert Hall, temporarily scaring host Bob Hope.
  • The first winner from the United States, 1973's Marjorie Wallace, was forced to resign because of her high-profile serial dating.
  • The 1974 winner Helen Morgan resigned four days later after it was discovered she was a single mother.
  • In 1976, several countries went on a boycott, because the pageant included both a Caucasian and African representative for South Africa. In yet another shut-out for the nation for its apartheid policy, South Africa competed for the last time in 1977, before it was welcomed back in 1991 as that policy disintegrated.
  • The 1980 winner Gabriela Brum of Germany resigned one day after winning, initially claiming her boyfriend disapproved. A few days later it emerged that she had been forced to resign after it was discovered that she posed naked for a magazine.
  • In 1996, wide-scale protests took place in Bangalore, India over the hosting of the beauty contest. The swimsuit shootings were moved to Seychelles, and heavy security was in place for every move the contestants made. Despite the chaos, the pageant's live telecast went on without a problem.
  • Just days after her 1998 crowning, Israel's Linor Abargil revealed that she had been raped only two months before the pageant. One of the highlights of her year was seeing her accused rapist convicted.
In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With a Purpose. The contest added tests of intelligence and personality. By the 1990s, the pageant was reaching two billion viewers from almost every country in the world. The competition has been seen as old-fashioned and rather politically incorrect in its native Britain. Despite the global appeal, the show was not broadcast on any major terrestrial British TV network for several years, until Channel Five aired it in 1998.

Hosts & Hostesses

21st century

Eric Morley died as the pageant entered the new century. The century saw its first black African winner, Agbani Darego, in 2001. In 2002 the competition was slated for Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. This choice was controversial, as a northern Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, was awaiting death by stoning for adultery under Sharia law there, but Miss World chose to use the publicity surrounding its presence to bring greater global awareness and action to Amina's plight.

The 2002 Nigeria contest

In the year leading up the finals in Nigeria, several European title holders lobbied their governments and the EU parliament to support Amina's cause. A number of contestants followed the lead of Kathrine Sørland of Norway in boycotting the contest (despite the controversy Sørland would go on to become a semifinalist in both the Miss World and Miss Universe contest), while others such as Costa Rica were instructed by their national governments and parliaments not to attend the contest. Among the other boycotting nations were Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Panama, Belgium and Kenya. There was further controversy over the possibly suspended participation of France and South Africa, which may or may not have been due to the boycott. For her part, Lawal asked that contestants not suspend their participation in the contest, saying that it was for the good of her country and that they could, as the representative of Sweden had earlier remarked, make a much stronger case for her on the ground in Nigeria. Despite the increasing international profile the boycott was garnering in the world press, the contest went ahead in Nigeria, with many prominent nations sending their delegates. Osmel Sousa of Venezuela, one of the world's most influential national directors, famously said "there is no question about it (the participation of Miss Venezuela in the contest)." The trouble did not end there, however. A ThisDay (Lagos, Nigeria) newspaper editorial suggesting that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, would probably have chosen one of his wives from among the contestants had he been alive to see it, resulted in Anti-Christian riots that started on November 22 in which over 200 people were killed in the city of Kaduna, along with many Christian churches being burned by Muslim fanatics. Because of these riots, the 2002 pageant was moved to London, following widely circulated reports that the representatives of Canada and Korea had fled to their home countries. A fatwa urging the beheading of the woman who wrote the offending words, Isioma Daniel, was issued in Nigeria, but was declared null and void by the relevant Saudi Arabian authorities. Upon the pageant's return to England, many of the boycotting contestants chose to attend, including Miss Norway, Kathrine Sørland, who was ironically tipped in the last few days as the number one favorite for the crown she had previously boycotted. The eventual winner of the pageant was Azra Akin of Turkey, the first predominantly Muslim country to hold the title since Egypt in 1954.

Akin was followed by Ireland's Rosanna Davison, daughter of the "Lady in Red" singer Chris de Burgh. In 2004 the crown was decided for the first time by a global vote, resulting in the victory of Peru's Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia and the return of the title to Latin America after nine years.

Further notes

Miss World – The Final is the World’s largest live annual TV event with global viewing figures topping two billion across more than 200 countries (Real data from every country broadcasting the event is impossible to obtain, and therefore, not furnished).

Miss World is the largest, longest running and arguably the most prestigious of all global beauty contests (although Miss Universe is typically viewed as more prestigous in countries in North and Central America).

The only international pageant to have over 100 countries participate, Miss World is considered less "predictable" than many of its international rivals, because of its diverse judging panels. This unpredictability is also due to Miss World's subjective judging criteria. Recent voting changes have created the World's largest public vote, with telephone, online and text voting since Miss World 2004.

Miss World has raised millions of pounds for charities around the globe under the banner of its ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ programme, and is credited with directly influencing a dramatic increase in tourism in Sanya, China, home to Miss World for the past three years.

THE MISS WORLD ORGANIZATION owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the World’s biggest and most loved events. Since its launch is 1951, the Miss World Organization has raised more than £250m for children’s charities. Miss World is franchised in more than 140 countries and commands the World’s largest annual live TV audience.

Titleholders

Beijing, China, Shanghai, China, and Xi'an, China
Year Miss World Country Venue
1951 Kicki Håkansson Sweden Lyceum Theatre, London, U.K.
1952 May Louise Flodin Sweden London, UK
1953 Denise Perrier France London, UK
1954 Antigone Costanda Egypt London, UK
1955 Carmen Susana Duijim Zubillaga Venezuela London, UK
1956 Petra Susanna Schürmann West Germany London, UK
1957 Marita Lindahl Finland London, UK
1958 Penelope Anne Coelen South Africa London, UK
1959 Corinne Rottschafer Netherlands London, UK
1960 Norma Gladys Cappagli Argentina London, UK
1961 Rosemarie Frankland United Kingdom London, UK
1962 Catharina Johanna Lodders Netherlands London, UK
1963 Carole Joan Crawford Jamaica London, UK
1964 Ann Sydney United Kingdom London, UK
1965 Lesley Langley United Kingdom London, UK
1966 Reita Faria India London, UK
1967 Madeleine Hartog Bell Peru London, UK
1968 Penelope Plummer Australia London, UK
1969 Eva Von Rueber-Staier Austria Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
1970 Jennifer Josephine Hosten Grenada London, UK
1971 Lucia Tavares Petterle Brazil London, UK
1972 Belinda Roma Green Australia London, UK
1973 Marjorie Wallace United States London, UK
1974 Helen Morgan United Kingdom London, UK
Anneline Kriel South Africa
1975 Wilnelia Merced Cruz Puerto Rico London, UK
1976 Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Breakspeare Jamaica London, UK
1977 Mary Ann Catrin Stavin Sweden London, UK
1978 Silvana Rosa Súarez Argentina London, UK
1979 Gina Ann Cassandra Swainson Bermuda London, UK
1980 Gabriela Brum West Germany London, UK
Kimberley Santos Guam
1981 Carmen Josefina "Pilin" Leon Crespo Venezuela London, UK and Miami, U.S.
1982 Mariasela Alvarez Lebron Dominican Republic London, UK
1983 Sarah-Jane Hutt United Kingdom London, UK
1984 Astrid Carolina Herrera Irrazábal Venezuela London, UK
1985 Hólmfríður Karlsdóttir Iceland London, UK
1986 Giselle Jeanne-Marie Laronde Trinidad and Tobago London, UK and Macau
1987 Ulla Weigerstorfer Austria London, UK and Malta
1988 Linda Pétursdóttir Iceland London, UK and Málaga, Spain
1989 Aneta Beata Kreglicka Poland Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan
1990 Gina Marie Tolleson United States Palladium Theatre, London, UK and Norway
1991 Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jimenez Venezuela Atlanta Superdome, Atlanta, U.S.A. and South Africa
1992 Julia Alexandrovna Kourotchkina Russia Sun City Entertainment Centre, Sun City, South Africa
1993 Lisa Hanna Jamaica Sun City, South Africa
1994 Aishwarya Rai India Sun City, South Africa
1995 Jacqueline Maria Aguilera Marcano Venezuela Sun City, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Comoros
1996 Irene Skliva Greece Bangalore Cricket Stadium, Bangalore, India and Seychelles
1997 Diana Hayden India Lake Berjaya Mahe Resort, Mahe, Seychelles
1998 Linor Abargil Israel Baie Lazare, Seychelles and Paris, France
1999 Yukta Mookhey India Olympia Hall, London, UK and Malta
2000 Priyanka Chopra India Millenium Dome, London, UK and the Maldives
2001 Ibiagbanidokibubo "Agbani" Asenite Darego Nigeria Sun City Entertainment Centre, Sun City, South Africa and Zambia
2002 Azra Akin Turkey Alexandra Palace, London, UK and Nigeria
2003 Rosanna Davison Ireland Crown of Beauty Theatre, Sanya, China,
2004 María Julia Mantilla Peru Sanya, China
2005 Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir Iceland Sanya, China
2006 Warsaw, Poland

Scoretable

As of 2005:
Times Country
5 India, Venezuela
4 United Kingdom
3 Iceland, Jamaica, Sweden
2 Argentina, Australia, Austria, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, United States
1 Brazil, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Nigeria, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey

Trivia

  • Miss World remains the only major beauty pageant where a country successfully held the title for consecutive years: Sweden (1951-52), United Kingdom (1964-65), and India (1999-2000).

  • France, Australia, and Venezuela have won both Miss World and Miss Universe crowns in the same year: 1953, 1972 and 1981 respectively. India achieved the feat twice, in 1994 and in 2000.

  • In 2000, Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994 from India, was named the Most Beautiful Miss World of All Times - receiving a score of 9.911.

  • Though unplaced in Miss World, contestants Georgina Rizk (Miss Universe 1971), Angela Visser (Miss Universe 1989), and Mpule Kwelagobe (Miss Universe 1999) were all Miss Universe title holders. Michelle McLean (Miss Universe 1992) from Namibia was a finalist at the 1991 Miss World pageant in Atlanta and went on to win the 1992 Miss Universe crown in Bangkok.

  • Several Miss World alumna have been cast as Bond girl or made appearances in the Bond movies: They are: Claudine Auger (France, first runner-up, 1958), Michele Mok (Hong Kong, 1958), Eva Rueber-Staier (Austria, Miss World 1969), Denise Perrier (France, Miss World 1953), Mary Stavin (Sweden, Miss World 1977), Michelle Yeoh (Malaysia, 1983), Ruddy Rodriguez (Venezuela, finalist 1985), Lou-Anne Ronchi (Australia, second runner-up 1984) and Halle Berry (USA, finalist 1986).

  • In 1989, Miss World beauty pageant was held in an overseas location for the first time, in Hong Kong.

  • "Miss World" is a song by the American grunge band Hole. It was released as a single in April 1994, followed by "Doll Parts" in June.

  • Miss World has yet to crown a winner from the Far East.

See also

External links and references

Miss World | Beauty pageants

Miss World | Miss Monde | Miss World | Lijst van Miss World-winnaressen | Miss World | Miss Mundo | Miss World | Miss Maailma | Miss World

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Miss World".

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