| Biography | Miss World is the oldest running international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant.
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.Eric Morley decided to make the Miss World pageant an annual event. 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.
In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the pageant and its popularity grew. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World would be among the most watched programs of the year. However, in 1970, the Miss World contest was disrupted by women's liberation protesters armed with flour bombs, stink bombs, and water pistols. In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With a Purpose, with added tests of intelligence and personality. However, there have been various objections to the contest. |