The changing face of the Miss England contest
The current Miss Birmingham, 26-year-old Amrita Saund, personifies how beauty contests have changed in recent years.
Far more than just a pretty face, Amrita – from Handsworth – is a specialist NHS pharmacist in critical care and proudly represented Birmingham in the most recent Miss England final.
And with judging in this year’s competition now underway, it’s perhaps a good time to reflect on how the event has evolved over the years.
In the early days of Miss England and Miss World, the competitions were mainstream family events broadcast live on terrestrial TV.
Changing tastes and the rise of social media notwithstanding, the competitions are still going strong, and despite not being on television now in the UK, Miss World still ranks in the top 10 of biggest global TV audiences and is celebrating its 71st birthday this year.
These days there is much more of an emphasis on “beauty with a purpose” thanks primarily to co-founder Julia Morley, the CEO of Miss World, who is now in her eighties, and who received
a Variety Humanitarian award in 2016 and a CBE in the 2022 Birthday Honours list for charitable and voluntary services to disadvantaged people in the UK and abroad. Miss World and its associated competitions have raised millions across the world.
Career
The director of Miss England for the last 21 years is Midlands-based Angie Beasley. “I started off as a contestant myself in 1979 despite having zero confidence,” she explains. “Little did I know it was the start of a lifelong career for me. In 2021 I celebrated 40 years of involvement with this business, and it’s certainly changed over the years. It’s no longer the swimsuit parade it once was, and it’s now for women and run by women.”
Angie introduced the eco-fashion element to the context in 2007, designed to encourage contestants who couldn’t afford expensive outfits to be able to be proud and creative in sourcing alternatives, and this sector of the contest is now sponsored by WASUP (the World Against Single-Use Plastic campaign) which originated in Walsall.
Another popular round started by Angie is the Bare Face category which began in 2019. Angie was invited onto the BBC1 breakfast TV show to talk about this after speaking about the harmful effects of filters on social media and wanting to promote natural beauty. In 2022 the Miss England contest generated global publicity when Melisa Raouf, the winner of the Bare Face round, strolled down the final catwalk without a scrap of make-up – and subsequently established her own following on Instagram with the hashtag #barefacetrendmovement.
The Miss England contest is now organised differently compared to previous years. A series of qualifying heats are held on the Miss England app on a monthly basis to find the semi-finalists. The app is free to download from Google Play or the App Store, and voters receive a free daily vote for their favourite contestant. In the semi-final, the national finalists will be selected. The winner will then go on to represent England at the Miss World contest.
For more details visit www.missengland.info or see the Miss England page on Instagram at @missenglandofficial.
Photos of Amrita Saund by Irfan Tahir