The Miss Universe Organisation recently confirmed the date and venue of Miss Universe 2017. After 2015, once again Miss Universe (MU) and Miss World (MW) editions are overlapping. Last time when both the pageants went head to head, Miss Universe completely overshadowed the Miss World pageant in terms of news and social media coverage. Although it was also because of the messed up crowing at Miss Universe 2015, one cannot deny that even the coverage of pre-pageant activities of Miss World 2015 were overshadowed by news about Miss Universe 2015. Coincidentally just like 2015, Miss Universe 2017 is being held in Planet Hollywood Las Vegas while Miss World 2017 is being held in Sanya, China. Will the Miss World pageant be able to shine irrespective of popularity of Miss Universe 2017 or will Miss World 2017 face the same fate as its 2015 edition?

There are some clear factors that play in favour of MU. MU has three times more social media followers than that of MW. MU’s telecast is far more entertaining and well produced. And above all, MU is more popular in pageant friendly countries as compared to MW. So if MW wants to outperform MU this year, they certainly need to raise the bar. And most importantly it needs better and more efficient management. Even though WME-IMG has still not understood the pageant formula, being one of the global leaders in fashion and entertainment industry they understand how to put up a show. Hence here are 5 reasons why MW needs better management if they want to succeed in the race with MU.

• Poor quality of production:

The last time we saw a world class MW final was way back in 2012. Rest of the time MW production is even poor than the state level pageants under Miss USA and Miss America systems. Last year the whole look and feel of the MW finale seemed like a high school prom night. MW spends large amount of its budget on its pre-pageant events. So much so, that the finale of the pageant seems like an afterthought of pre-pageant activities. On the other hand you have the MU pageant which doesn’t focus at all on its pre-pageant activities but puts its best foot forward during the finale [When matters the most for general audience]. MW management needs to understand that it’s the finale that people across the world are going to remember and not the fast track or challenge rounds. This year once again MW will be putting up a massive opening ceremony. The concept of having a ceremony is nice, but it doesn’t have any pageant element. The cultural performances in MW final are also fine to some extent. But then again, we tune in to watch a pageant and get to see hundreds of Chinese performers running around the stage instead of the pageant girls. The management of MW needs put more emphasis on the pageant itself rather than all these performances. They need to understand that MW is not an equivalent of the Olympics or the World cup. It’s a beauty pageant and it should look like one.

• Poor entertainment value:

When it was announced that Miss World 2016 was going to be held in USA the first thing that came in my mind was that I’ll have to survive the MW final in the middle of the night and must try to stay awake. Although last year’s edition was not as boring as some of its previous editions, the new changes in this year’s format seem scary. Having top 40 semifinalists compete at the final night may be a bit too much. The pageant is returning to Sanya which last time gave us one of the most boring editions of MW of all times. Hence MW’s management needs to properly plan its finale in such a way that the pageant doesn’t become yet another snoozfest.

• Credibility:

Almost every other year the fans end up questioning the credibility of MW’s results. MW keeps inviting its national franchise holders to judge the MW finals and pre-pageant competitions which is unfair for obvious reasons. The surprising outcomes of its pre-pageants events create additional concerns about the pageant’s credibility. Most of the people at the judging panel of MW are either former MW winners or people who are closely associated with the organisation that seem more or less under control of the pageant organisers. Ms. Morley’s presence as the head of the panel makes it even more certain that it’s only her decision that matters. MW’s management needs to invite more diverse set of judges for changing its tarnished image.

• Uncertain Format:

For years fans wondered what could be the basis on which top five/six/seven contestants are chosen out of the semifinalists during the MW finals. Last year they did change the format to make it look more like a competition than like an award show and fans were happy with that format. But this year they changed the format once again and made it more complicated than ever. MW keeps increasing its emphasis on use of social media during the pageant. That was good to some extent but it shouldn’t become ultimate deciding factor.

• Too much focus on charity:

We all know very well that MW is involved in a lot of charitable activities. But many-a-times MW management puts more importance on the charity work of MW than the pageant itself. Charity is undeniably important for MW but there is no need for them to hide behind the veil of charity and pretend like the pageant is just a side business for them. It’s the contestants and eventual winner who are going to do all that charity work. Then why not put more emphasis on them? By the time pageant ends, fans end up feeling like they don’t even know the girl who ended up winning. All they remember is the amount of praise Ms. Morley received for her charitable work.

In conclusion we can say that the MW pageant is not going to get an easy fight with MU. If they don’t want history to repeat itself, they must bring younger and forward thinking people on its team. MW is more of a family business of the Morley family. But the current management (we are talking about Steve) seems to have lost its focus. So buckle up MWO, you are in for one hell of a ride and fans are rooting for you to succeed.

Author: Jinendra Aherkar.