Miss International pageant nixes swimsuit parade
Miss International Jasmin Selberg with Angelica Lopez, Binibining Pilipinas International 2023. Screengrab from Binibining Pilipinas / YouTube
MANILA, Philippines — This year’s Miss International pageant promises to be different from the previous editions, with several changes already teased by Stephen Diaz, the Filipino head director of organizer International Cultural Association. The latest, and perhaps the most significant of these updates is the scrapping of the swimsuit parade.
“There will be no more SWIMSUIT PARADE during the final gala of #MissInternational2023. Swimsuit evaluation will only be done during the closed-door preliminary evaluation,” the pageant said on social media on July 22. In the previous editions, all delegates participated in the national costume, swimwear, and evening gown parades during the final show.
There will be no more SWIMSUIT PARADE during the final gala of #MissInternational2023. Swimsuit evaluation will only be done during the closed door preliminary evaluation. pic.twitter.com/27G4zInOY8
— Miss International (@MissInterOrg) July 22, 2023
In an interview with Inquirer.net when he visited the Philippines in May for the 2023 Binibining Pilipinas pageant, Diaz said, “we are exploring on the fact that we will do sportswear instead of swimsuit during the final night. We will still do the swimsuit evaluation, just not onstage.”
He said some sponsors are getting hesitant with the idea of seeing girls in swimsuit on stage. “They don’t want to be put in a situation wherein their stakeholders will ask them, ‘why are you sponsoring an event that makes women catwalk in swimsuit?’ So we are exploring on that possibility of doing sportswear instead,” Diaz explained.
In an earlier social media post, the Miss International pageant said this year’s winner will be evaluated “based on their attitude, punctuality, beauty of face, body proportion, intelligence, and their social contribution! Preliminary judging will strictly be for body proportion and skin quality only. Skin color is irrelevant!”
Diaz also revealed that people have been complaining about the system employed by the Miss International pageant. “Guys, please don’t turn our pageant into a replica of another existing pageant. We are different,” he posted on social media.
The Miss World pageant was the first of the major international beauty competitions to scrap the swimsuit competition in 2014. Its chair, Julia Morley, said the move was meant to keep the focus more on “brains and personality” instead of just physical beauty.
Diaz hinted that the 2023 Miss International pageant will be the biggest one ever with more than 80 delegates expected to compete. He also dispelled misconceptions that loud cheers have a negative impact on the delegate. “Based on my convo with some of our judges, they had actually voted for certain girls [because] of the loud cheers, and they didn’t want to disappoint them,” he said.
The Filipino pageant official also said they are planning to squeeze the entire competition in two and a half hours. Previous shows ran for four hours.
He also shared that four countries have officially expressed their interest in hosting the 62nd Miss International pageant next year. Japan has been the global tilt’s host country for 46 editions since 1968. The contest returned to the United States, its country of origin, in 1971. China has hosted five editions (2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011), while Macau welcomed the pageant in 2008.
This year’s Miss International pageant will also be held in a different venue. Instead of the Tokyo Dome City Hall where the competition has been taking place since 2016, it will be staged at the Yoyogi Gymnasium in Shibuya on Oct. 26. Bb. Pilipinas Nicole Borromeo will try to become the seventh Filipino woman to win the crown, and inherit the title from reigning queen Jasmin Selberg.
The Philippines ranks second among the most successful countries in the Miss International pageant with six winners to date—Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Verzosa (2016). EDV
