The Miss World contest will no longer feature a swimsuit round, Julia Morley, chairwoman of the organisers, has said.
“I really … don’t need to see women just walking up and down in bikinis. It doesn’t do anything for the women. And it doesn’t do anything for any of us,” Ms. Morley said in an interview with the Elle magazine.
Miss World was founded in 1951 by her late husband, Eric, and since then, the swimwear round had been a regular feature. But recently, she has come to feel that the round is unnecessary. Hence, the pageant has not been broadcasting it for some years.
“We don’t want to just make them [participants] feel like they are walking bodies, you know,” said Ms. Morley adding that she was hoping to set her competition apart from other pageants by emphasising brains and personality over physical beauty.
Even in 1974, a step was taken in this direction with the creation of the “Beauty with a Purpose” segment to support humanitarian projects around the world.
Rolene Strauss of South Africa was crowned the 64th Miss World in London on December 14 and the pageant was the last to include the swimwear round.
—-IANS