Miss World

In 1951, Eric Morley organised a bikini contest as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations that he called the Festival Bikini Contest. The event was popular with the press, and was dubbed « Miss World » by the media. The swimsuit competition was intended as a promotion for the bikini which had only recently been introduced onto the market, and which was still widely regarded as immodest. When the 1951 Miss World pageant winner, Kerstin « Kiki » Hakansson from Sweden, was crowned in a bikini, it added to the controversy.

The pageant was originally planned as a Pageant for the Festival of Britain, but Eric Morley decided to make the Miss World pageant an annual event. Morley registered the « Miss World » name as a trademark, and all future pageants were held under that name. However, because of the controversy arising from Håkansson’s crowning in a bikini, countries with religious traditions threatened not to send delegates to future events, and the bikini was condemned by the Pope. Objection to the bikini led to its replacement in all future pageants with what was accepted as more modest swimwear, and from 1976 swimsuits were replaced by evening gowns for the crowning. Håkansson remains the only Miss World crowned in a bikini. In Miss World 2013 all participants wore a one-piece swimsuit plus a traditional sarong below the waist as a compromise with local culture.

Morley announced the Miss World winners in the order No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1. This was intended to keep the tension up, and avoid the anti-climax if Nos. 2 and 3 are announced after the winner.

In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the pageant. The pageant’s popularity grew with the advent of television. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World would be among the most watched programs of the year on British television. However, in 1970, the Miss World contest in London was disrupted by women’s liberation protesters armed with flour bombs, stink bombs, and water pistols. More than 18 million people watched the pageant at its peak during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan « Beauty With a Purpose », with added tests of intelligence and personality. In 1984, BBC1 controller Michael Grade announced that the corporation would cease to broadcast beauty pageants from the following January, after they had shown Miss Great Britain, commenting « I believe these contests no longer merit national air time. » Grade added, « They are an anachronism in this day and age of equality and verging on the offensive.’‘ Thames Television broadcast Miss World between 1980 and 1988, when ITV dropped it.

During the early 1990s, there was a decline in the popularity of mainstream television broadcasts of the event, after it became « increasingly unfashionable » in the late 1980s. The pageant returned on satellite channel Sky One in 1997, before moving to Channel 5 for three years (1998–2000).

Eric Morley died in 2000, and his wife, Julia, succeeded as chairwoman of the Miss World organisation.

The first black African Miss World winner, Agbani Darego of Nigeria, was crowned in 2001. As part of its marketing strategy, Miss World came up with a « Vote For Me » television special during that edition, featuring the delegates behind the scenes and on the beach, and allowing viewers to either phone in or vote online for their favourites. It also sells its Talent, Beach Beauty and Sports events as television specials to broadcasters. ITV broadcast the 2001 pageant from South Africa on digital channel ITV2, with the special airing a week earlier on the main ITV channel.

In 2002 the pageant was slated for Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria to host its final. 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 Lawal’s plight. No British channel agreed to broadcast the event, and there were objections to the contest.

In the Miss World 2014 ceremony, Aishwarya Rai the most successful crowned Miss World by the Miss World Organization attended the celebration with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, daughter Aaradhya and mother Brinda Rai. It has been broadcast on local TV channel London Live since 2014.

Miss World 2021 will be the 70th anniversary of the pageant. It is scheduled to be held on December 16, 2021 at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

On 16 December, the Miss World finals night was officially postponed due to several contestants and organization staff after having tested positive from COVID-19. The finals will be rescheduled within 90 days.

The rescheduled 70th Miss World pageant was held at Puerto Rico’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on March 16, 2022. The annoncement made via Miss World social media accounts and press conference on December 21.