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.
Alongside with its rivals, the Miss Universe and Miss Earth contests, Miss World pageant is one of the three most publicised beauty contests in the world; together with Miss International, the group is known as Big Four international beauty pageants.
Miss World emphasis on a new format, giving greater attraction on social media and interactivity. This new format is called the Head-to-Head Challenge, which will select 20 out of the Top 40 contestants.
Miss World 2017, the 67th edition of the Miss World pageant. was held on 18 November 2017 at the Sanya City Arena in Sanya, China. 118 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico crowned her successor Manushi Chhillar of India at the end of the event.
According to TimesNow: No Asian woman had won the Miss World title until 1966, when a final year medical student Reita Faria, changed India’s fate forever draped in six yards of elegance. Close to three decades later, light-eyed beauty Aishwarya Rai had re-written history after she beat everyone in the competition to bag the honour for the country. Rai’s win at the prestigious pageant paved way for many other Indian beauties to follow including the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Diana Hayden to name a few. Call it a co-incidence or not, another medical student Manushi Chhillar has repeated history today and became the 67th titleholder of Miss World 2017.
Winning the Miss World title has been Manushi’s childhood dream. She had said in an interview,”As a kid, I always wanted to participate in the competition but I never knew I would make it this far. Winning the Miss World title is now not just my dream, but also that of my family and friends. I know it’s going to be a journey that I will never forget. Whatever the result, I am going to learn, enjoy and give it my best. The rest, I leave to destiny.”
India has won the Miss World Title times before :
Miss World 2000, the 50th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 30 November 2000 at the Millennium Dome in London, United Kingdom.The pageant’s swimsuit segment was filmed in the Maldives.
Miss World 2000 titleholder – Priyanka Chopra
The pageant was won by Priyanka Chopra of India, at the age of 18. She is the fifth Indian Miss World and the second consecutive winner from her country. Internationally, Chopra reigned alongside Miss Universe 2000 titleholder Lara Dutta and Miss Asia Pacific 2000 titleholder Dia Mirza, both also of India.
The 49th Miss World pageant was held on 4 December 1999 at Olympia, London. Mookhey was crowned Miss World 1999 beating 93 delegates from other countries. She became the fourth woman from India to win Miss World after Reita Faria in 1966, Aishwarya Rai in 1994 and Diana Hayden in 1997.
Miss World 1997, the 47th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 22 November 1997 in Baie Lazare, Seychelles.86 delegates competed for the coveted crown. At the end of the event, India’s Diana Hayden came out victorious. Hayden went on to win the Miss World 1997 pageant at the age of 24 crowned by Miss World 1996, Irene Skliva.
Miss World 1994, the 44th edition of the Miss World, was held on 19 November 1994 and marked the third consecutive staging of Miss World in Sun City, South Africa. The pageant attracted 87 contestants from around the world. At the end of the night, Aishwarya Rai of India, at the time a 21-year-old architecture student, was crowned the new Miss World. She was crowned by Miss World 1993, Lisa Hanna of Jamaica. Earlier that year, another Indian, Sushmita Sen had won the Miss Universe title, securing the two leading international beauty pageants for India in 1994.
Without any ado let’s look at the beauty who won us the crown after 17 years.
All Images of Manushi Chhillar Source from her Instagram account. Follow her here – Manushi Chhillar
We at Dotcom Stories Congrats Manushi Chhillar for winning The Miss World 2017 title and making th whole country proud.