One of the top 3 international beauty contests on the globe, along with Miss World, Miss Universe, the traditional Miss International beauty contest starts on Monday, October 27th, in Japan. Seventy-six beauties from all five continents start arriving in the “land of the rising sun” on this Sunday, and the big final, to be followed by thousands of pageant enthuasiasts in many countries, will happen on November 11th, a Tuesday, in Tokyo.
Miss International, launched in 1960, in Long Beach, USA, when Miss Universe had moved to Miami Beach, Miss International started “big”, for times getting as much worldwide press attention as Miss Universe and Miss World.
However, in the mid 1960’s it started losing interest and sponsors in America, and it was then that the contest was bought by the Japanese. The first Miss International contest to happen in Japan was the 1968 edition. The contest lived glorious days in its Asian home, being very popular in the 1970’s and most of the 1980’s.
Its worst years, in terms of production, sponsorship and press attention, came in the late 1980’s and lasted for about 15 years. It was then saved by the “Chinese pageant-fever”, which came into scene in the 2000’s and gave a boost in several international beauty competitions. With China hosting it and Chinese money coming in, Miss International got revamped and gained a lot in terms of television production and press promotion. It lasted up to 2011 in the host city of Chengdu, when Chinese sponsorship money destined to beauty contests ceased.
Miss International returned to Japan, to Okinawa in 2012, and then to Tokyo in 2013 and 2014. There’s no international telecast of the pageant, although it can be watched live on the internet. Production is considerably better than what the world witnessed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, but far from lavishing and entertaining shows such as Miss World, Universe. Its best production yet, was the one from the contest held in Macau, in 2008, when Spain bagged its third title.
Miss Malaysia International 2014 was represented by Jayarubini Sambanthan, 22 years old, an accountant & Finance student from Kuala Lumpur.
