Second-placed Miss Russia Sofia Nikitchuk, winner Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo, third-placed Miss Indonesia Maria Harfanti, Miss Lebanon Valerie Abou Chacra and Miss Jamaica Sanneta Myrie hold hands as they celebrate during the Miss World 2015 pageant in Sanya, Hainan province, China, December 19, 2015Reuters
Miss World 2016 pageant will be held on 18 December at the MGM National Harbor, and the excitement is brewing up. At the end of the extravagant show, one of the contestants will be crowned winner by Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna Royo.
The Miss World contest is one of the oldest international beauty pageants and was first created in the UK in 1951 by Eric Morley. The original contest was introduced as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations.
In 1951, 26 women competed for the crown, with Sweden's Kiki Haakonson named the first Miss World. Throughout the 1950s, the swimsuit outfits caught attention from the public. Within a few years, it garnered a global audience when it was televised by the BBC from 1959 to 1979 and then Thames Television until 1988. In 1970, the competition hosted by Bob Hope was the single most-watched show of the year in Britain.
Miss World contestants compete in various categories such as top model, sports, multimedia, beach fashion, and Beauty with a Purpose. According to the tradition, the winner will spend the winning year in London and travelling to represent the Miss World Organisation (MWO) and its causes.
Scroll down to take a look at the beauty contest winners of last 10 years.
Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo (C) receives the crown from 2014 winner Rolene Strauss of South Africa (rear), as she is flanked by second-placed Miss Russia Sofia Nikitchuk (L) and third-placed Miss Indonesia Maria Harfanti, during the Miss World 2015 pageant in Sanya, Hainan province, ChinaReuters
Rolene Strauss of South Africa (C) is crowned Miss World 2014, as Elizabeth Safrit of the U.S (R) and Edina Kulczar of Hungary (L) who placed third and second respectively, look on at the ExCel Centre in east London, December 14, 2014Reuters
Miss World 2013 Megan Young of the PhilippinesReuters
The Miss World 2012 title was awarded to Yu Wenxia, marking the second time that Miss China had been crowned the honorMiss World Organisation
Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, is crowned Miss World 2011 in Earls Court in west LondonReuters
Miss USA Alexandria Mills, 18, holds her crown after wining the Miss World 2010 title in Sanya, on the Chinese island of Hainan October 30, 2010Reuters
Miss World Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia (top) crowns her successor Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar during the Miss World finals in Midrand, outside Johannesburg, December 12, 2009Reuters
Miss World 2008 was Ksenia Sukhinova, from RussiaReuters
Miss China Zhang Zilin waves after been crowned as Miss World 2007 in Sanya on the Chinese island of Hainan December 1, 2007Reuters
Miss World 2006 Tatana Kucharova of the Czech Republic smiles during a news conference at Kramar's Villa, the prime minister's official residence, in Prague October 6, 2006Reuters
