History Of The Miss Universe Pageant

The history of the Miss Universe pageant is probably the last thing you think of when you see dozens of gorgeous women parading around in bikinis on television.  This competition will give you an overdose of spray tans, dazzling dresses, and blinding white smiles.  If you want to amaze your buddies while enjoying the competition, take the time to learn a few facts about the Miss Universe pageant.

The Miss Universe pageant began in 1952 in Long Beach, California. Starting off as basically a swimsuit competition, there were no dress or question portions of this competition initially. A clothing company by the name of Pacific Mills orchestrated this contest. Since they manufactured swimsuits, or "bathing suits" as they were called then, the winner was crowned in one of their bathing suits.

The Miss Universe pageant is the number one ranked beauty pageant in the world. Most of the contestants from various countries go through months of preparation for this event. The Miss Universe headquarters are currently based in New York, New York. This pageant is usually held in the months of May or June and hosted in various countries each year. To be eligible to participate in the Miss Universe pageant, each country has to have a pageant of their own. If a country wishes to be the host of the pageant, they have to place bids, similar to what is done for the Olympics. The woman who is crowned as Miss Universe is given many opportunities such as traveling around the world and giving information to people about various diseases that plague the world.