What is perhaps the most prestigious beauty pageant in the world has just concluded, giving the world a fresh young face as an ambassador of goodwill, love and of course, sheer beauty. It might be one of the top beauty pageants today, but a look at the history of the competition shows that it started on a whim!
There existed a Miss Universe competition held by International Pageant of Pulchritude in 1926, and it continued till 1935 till the Great Depression and World War II put the celebration of beauty to a stop. The contest that we see today has its origins in a whim!
It so happened that the winner of Miss America pageant of 1951, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit for publicity. This did not sit well with the event’s main sponsor Pacific Knitting Mills which was the manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear. When the controversy began to heat up, Former Miss America Jacque Mercer suggested, “Why don’t you start your own pageant?” and thus, the first Miss Universe competition was born in 1952. Armi Kuusela of Finland was the first winner but had to give up her title to get married to a Filipino tycoon, Virgilio Hilario. The event was first televised in 1955 and was first broadcast live around the world in 1972.
Apart from being seen as the best of beauty pageants, Miss Universe has over the years successfully broken many stereotypes. In 1977, Miss Trinidad-Tobago Janelle Commissiong became the first black woman to be crowned Miss Universe while in 1995, Miss USA Chelsi Smith became the first bi-racial title holder.
Another interesting fact about the competition is that the Final Question, which witnesses stunning answers from the contestants, did not become a hallmark feature of the competition till 1990. It is only then that answering the Final Question became mandatory for top fie contestants.
In 1996, the company that oversaw the organisation the contest, Miss Universe Inc was bought by Donald Trump, and two years later changed its name to Miss Universe organisation. The pageant has continued unhindered for more than six decades, redefining what it means to be beautiful. The contest is held across 192 countries and viewed live by more than a billion people. What’s more, Steve Harvey returned in 2017 to host the event, refreshing some old memories!
To date, only two Indians, Sushmita Sen (1994) and Lara Dutta (2000) have won the contest. In fact Sushmita Sen was the judge for the glamorous competition this time around, held in the very same country where she was crowned 23 years ago.
