Miss World Pageant is scrapping off one of the most popular portions of a beauty pageant, the highly anticipated swimsuit competition.
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.”
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.
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.
