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.