Miss Universe is known to be joined by beautiful women around the world yearly to compete for the crown and the most prestigious title the Miss Universe. With the hype it brings every year, one must be curious where did it even start? Learn a few things about the history of Miss Universe through this article.
Where did Miss Universe Pageant Start?
The Miss Universe started during 1952 by a brand called Pacific Knitting Mills as a marketing stunt to promote one of the swimwear collections and as the manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear after its rival pageant, Miss America refused to wear its swimwear during the said event.
The company decided to create its own pageant and called it Miss Universe. Pacific Knitting Mills was a generous sponsor of the Miss America pageant until Yolanda Betbeze, the winner of the said pageant refused to wear the Catalina swimwear. In 1952, Pacific Knitting Mills first organized Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants and still continued to sponsor the Miss Universe event in the years to come.
The history of Miss Universe then began when it held its first pageant in Long Beach, California in 1952. The first-ever pageant was won by Miss Finland, Armi Kuusela, who eventually gave up her title even before she finishes her first year as Miss Universe to get married before her reign was completed. It then followed during 1958 when the Miss Universe title was named after the pageant itself like Miss America. Since Pacific Mills founded the history of Miss Universe s it was ever since organized and produced by the Miss Universe Organization. Pacific Mills and its other subsidiaries were acquired by the other company, Kayser-Roth Corporation, and then acquired by Gulf and Western Industries after by the company Gulf and Western Industries.
The Miss Universe pageant was televised in 1955 for the first time as part of the history of Miss Universe. The broadcasting station CBS was the first to broadcast both Miss Universe and Miss USA after more than 30 years, Donald Trump then bought the Miss Universe pageant in 1996 from the ITT Corp together with its broadcasting rights and arrangement with CBS until 2002. Miss Universe Inc. changed its name to the Miss Universe Organization and moved its office from Los Angeles to New York City in 1998. During 2002, Donald Trump entered a new business venture with NBC and it also outbid the TV rights from the other broadcasting networks. Starting 2003 to 2014, the Miss Universe pageant is being broadcasted by NBC in the United States.
In 2015 of June, the broadcasting network canceled its business relationship with Donald Trump and the Miss Universe Organization due to its controversies and statements issued about the illegal immigrants that crossed the border from Mexico. Donald Trump has bought the broadcasting network’s 50% shares making him the sole owner of the broadcasting network and then after 3 days sold the broadcasting network to IMG. With the sudden changes in the Miss Universe ownership, Fox, an American broadcasting company, and Azteca, an American Spanish television network, became the official broadcasters of the said pageants, Miss Universe and Miss USA. Paula Shugart is the president of the organization and held the position ever since 1997 and that’s what happened in the history of Miss Universe television rights.
Miss Universe is a pageant that celebrates all of the women and their culture, background, and empowers them to make them understand their goals through experiencing it and to enhance the women’s self-confidence and create opportunities for success and become a part of the history of Miss Universe.
How to become a candidate for Miss Universe?
To become and hold the title for Miss Universe, here are the requirements to join the prestigious pageant:
- Any woman must be between 18-27 years old to join the pageant
- The woman should never be married, not pregnant, and should never bore children before
- The contestant should apply to the National Director in their local countries to participate
- Lastly, the candidate should be the winner of the national competition in their own country.
Activities of the Miss Universe Pageant
During the first round, the contestants will be seen wearing swimsuits or athletic suits during a live show.
During the evening show, they would have to change into an evening gown wherein the judges will look for the candidate’s features such as its physical look while wearing the said outfits handpicked by the contestants. It is important to choose the best and most suitable outfit to show the judges your best body features and this will be the first time the contestants will showcase themselves in front of the judges.
In the live show, the semi-finalists will be announced based on the first round competition of swimwear and evening gowns.
During the live shows, the picked contestants will ramp the runway in their swimwear and athletic suits and present themselves in an introduction to a live audience. The second round will start off in an evening gown competition. The judges will start to test their personalities and certain numbers will be given based on their level of confidence to present themselves on the stage.
The last stage of the contest will be the interview round, in which only the top 6 contestants will go through which were chosen during the evening gown competition. This is considered to be the most difficult round of the competition is where the contestants will have to showcase their fast and quick thinking minds in answering the question prepared by the organizers in where some of the questions were to answer the issues the world is facing and possibly the current events happening in our world.
Before the interview competition, they will be asked to choose which judge they want to ask those questions and after this round, the runner ups and the titleholder for the new Miss Universe will be announced and will be judged based on her overall performance in the pageant and how she handled the pressure by answering the question gracefully.
The most iconic looks in Miss Universe contestants
1. Miss Mexico 2020, Andrea Meza
Miss Mexico 2020, Andrea Meza was a show stopper in a red glittered gown she showcased during the pageant. She is also a software engineer and the winner of the 69th Miss Universe pageant.
2. Miss Thailand 2020, Amanda Obdam
Miss Thailand 2020, Amanda Obdam, wore a blue sparkled dress that wowed everyone in her very look for an evening gown competition.
3. Miss Philippines 2018, Catriona Gray
Miss Philippines 2018, Catriona Gray showcased the ever lava gown designed by a Filipino designer that accentuates her body perfectly and showcased the Philippine beauty of volcanoes that inspired the designer to make. Catriona Gray won as the Miss Universe 2018 during this time.
4. Miss India 1994, Sushmita Sen
Miss India 1994, Sushmita Sen is the first Indian woman to win the Miss Universe crown and title and wore a black gown to receive her title with a gold fringe that goes perfectly with her gown.
Embodying the Queen in You
If you want to become one of the Miss Universe title holders, one must know how to take care of herself and most especially her physical body. In is known that in order to withhold the role of the title with the hectic schedule, trips, and certain amount of responsibility, she should be able to represent the whole organization to the best of her ability and has the ability to fulfill all her tasks. In order to do that, she should have a healthy body, both physically and mentally.
Here are some tips to take care of your body:
1. Keep your immunization updated
It is important to take your monthly or yearly vaccines to help boost your immune system and supply what your body needs. Consult with your doctor and have yourself tested on what your body might need and help to boost it further.
2. Eat healthy food
Ever since we were young, we are asked by our parents to eat healthy foods. They taught us that by eating the proper food in a proper way, they would be able to supply the proper nutrients by eating them in a natural way. It is known that fruits and vegetables have their own vitamins and minerals that help boost our health.
3. Do not use tobacco
Using tobacco makes our bodies weak and old. Some studies showed that it can cause early signs of aging and most importantly it can make your lungs weaker. With the nicotine content, it produces when inhaled it will be stored in your lungs for a period of time and could cause it to rote and not function properly.
4. Get your daily exercise
Proper and daily exercise is advised for all ages. It produces your body’s healthy hormones and keeps your muscles and body moving. In which the sweat you produce can take off all your body toxins and unnecessary fats stored in your body.
5. Keep track of your emotions
It is important for an individual to keep track of one’s mental health. Mental health has become a worldwide issue and needs to be addressed. In order to function properly and have a smart mind, you should take care of your mental health. Away from your stressors in life and should be able to live a happy and fulfilled life.
6. Get proper sleep
Sleep should be taken at least 8 hours a day for a person to function properly. Our body systems are re-generated during the time we sleep. It can involve positive impacts on our lungs, kidneys, and our metabolism that contributes to our weight loss. If not slept properly, it can affect your immune system and can cause some diseases, low brain function, and low self-esteem.
Being the Miss Universe is a dream come true. After all the hardships and preparations that each girl and woman goes through, it is really worth it to be called the Miss Universe and hold the title for a year. Every woman needs to take care of herself physically and emotionally. Prepare all the dresses and practice the mind for the difficult question and answer portion. Though the organization promotes every girl’s beauty, it also gives the women an opportunity to grow as a person and opportunity to showcase themselves in front of everyone on how strong and independent we, women can be and be able to present one’s self with confidence and great passion towards their personal life goals and withhold to their beliefs that they want the world to see.
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Written by Yna Faundo
