Miss World is the oldest international beauty Competition on the planet. It was founded a year before its American rival began. It is also the biggest competition, attracting more than 100 candidates annually.

But Miss World has been plagued by one problem. And that problem is what chiefly concerns Pageant fans and followers — lack of excitement and entertainment value.

Miss World is still very prestigious. It is revered by many and attracts global media attention, the only one that comes near to the highly celebrated US-based Miss Universe.

At the onset of the 21st century, Miss World reinvented itself to make the pageant transcend beyond bikini-clad ladies. It has made charity the core of its existence, celebrating beauty in giving and spreading the “beauty with a purpose” brand.

While Miss World has already been regarded as the elegant sister of the Miss Universe competition, it has brought this image further by removing the swimsuit competition. The removal was made years after Miss World has ditched stage competition during its finale.

What was left is an awards-like finals night, with delegates wearing evening gowns, and were subjected to eliminations and cuts for no reason at all. It seems everything is pre-judged and for the past few years, Miss World’s 2-hour finals were beyond watchable. To simply put it, Miss World is now like the Oscars minus the fun, excitement, and the laughs.

Miss World removed the essential elements of a beauty pageant to stay relevant in this modern age. In an era when women advocating for HIV/AIDS or global hunger while competing for swimsuits are being questioned by naysayers and unbelievers, Miss World responded by giving in and giving more emphasis on its charity works and women empowerment.

But by doing so, Miss World lost itself in the process.

The pageant that has competed head-to-head, toe-to-toe with Miss Universe in the 80s and the 90s is long gone. What was left is only but a shell — a prestigious brand where women compete for events that are for the most part, alien to the very concept of beauty pageants.

Is there no other way for a pageant to be kept modern and relevant without dropping its key elements? Does it have to be always removal of swimsuits just to show to the whole world that pageants are for those who wanted to make a difference?

Actually, we don’t have to look farther. In a much younger pageant that is Miss Earth, the advocacy on the environment was made in the forefront of the competition, by decreasing emphasis on swimsuits and giving more on the candidates’ wit and intelligence. Moreover, the swimsuit round is being used by the organization as selection criteria to judge the candidates’ discipline and fitness.

So if Miss Earth can do it, why not Miss World? A stronger brand like Miss World can shut off critics by using the same argument, all the while trumpeting its tremendous success in charity, fighting global hunger, and raising money for global initiatives.

The post Miss World: Losing Pageant Spirit For Relevance,Correctness appeared first on The Pageantry.