Did Julia Morley ruin Miss World?

Did Julia Morley Ruin Miss World?

Julia Morley became the sole owner of the Miss World pageant after the demise of her husband Mr. Eric Morley, who had created the pageant.  As per unconfirmed stories, Mr. Donald Trump, the then owner of Miss Universe pageant, had offered Julia Morley to buy her pageant.  However, she declined the offer and decided to continue working on the dream of her husband.  It’s been almost one and half decade since that happened and during this period, Julia Morley has totally changed the pageant.  There are some who like these changes, but there are some who don’t.

Further Reading: Evolution of Miss World

There are many reasons to believe that she spoiled the broth.  In 90’s, Miss World pageant would have the swimsuit and evening gown competitions like Miss Universe.  The Top 5 contestants would answer questions and the judges would choose the winner based on the answers and the overall impression.  As much conventional this format is, it is definitely a very effective one.  There was transparency in the process.  It looked logical.  Since the audiences saw the actual contest, the winner was more accepted by the fans and her strengths were better known.  Unfortunately, we miss all that in the current version of Miss World.  Many fans believe that Miss World nowadays is rigged and the leader-board concept is a farce.  There is no actual competition in the finals and it looks more like a cooking show.  Some people even call it a snooze-fest!  All this criticism is being hurled at Miss World only after Mrs. Morley took up the reins of the pageant in her hands.

There is also a lot that Julia can be proud of.  She converted the Miss World pageant into a cultural festival.  Now there is talent show, sports competition, Beauty With A Purpose contest in the pageant, and Dances Of The World segment in the finals.  These have added new colors to the pageant.  Multimedia and People’s Choice Awards are very advantageous, as they help in marketing as well as monetary gains.  Miss World is the first international pageant to introduce many of these things.  It makes the pageant exciting, interesting and innovative in a way.  Also, it is clear now that winning Miss World is not just about having a pretty face or sexy body.  The pageant is looking for an overall package in terms of personality, beauty and other traits.  Recently Julia Morley also declared her intentions to halt the popular bikini round.  Leader-board concept was first introduced to pageantry in 2011 by Miss World only.  Thus, Julia Morley has a lot to boast of.

All in all, we feel Julia Morley should be credited and appreciated for trying new things.  Of course, she may need to improvise on many things that she introduced in the pageant.  But still, she has managed to pull off a lot of her visions into amazing realities in an impressive way.  There will always be some naysayers, but it is the overall progress and exploration of new ideas that matters.

Image Credits: Miss World Facebook