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No More Bikinis! Miss World Pageant Bans Swimsuit Portion of Competition
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The Miss World competition is going against the grain.
Arguably one of the most popular portions of a beauty pageant is the highly anticipated swimsuit competition (because people love seeing beautiful women showing off their enviable figures in tiny two-pieces), and for the first time in 63 years the organization's chairwoman Julia Morley has announced that Miss World will no longer feature a swimsuit round in their competition.
"The organization has decided to take itself out of the swimsuit world because it isn't the path they're trying to take," Chris Wilmer, the national director of Miss World America/Miss United States organization, reportedly said. "It's not just a beauty contest, it's 'beauty with a purpose'. There didn't seem to be a purpose to have the swimsuit."
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Instead, the organization wants their contestants to focus on charity work and raising awareness to worthy causes.
"Miss World should be a spokesperson who can help a community. She's more of an ambassador, not a beauty queen. It's more about the outreach and what a woman could do with a title like Miss World," Wilmer told ABC News.
"I salute the Miss World organization for their efforts to try and modernize. Pageantry is an age old industry and I think with Julia getting rid of swimsuit and making it more of a lifestyle competition sends a strong message and I applaud her for it."
On Dec. 14, Rolene Strauss of South Africa was crowned the 64th Miss World winner in London, marking the final event featuring contestants wearing bikinis.