Miss World, Miss Universe, What’s the difference?

If you're new to pageantry you may be wondering, Miss World (MW), Miss Universe (MU), what's the difference?

Aren't they the same thing? And why do we have two of them?

These are all questions I've been hearing a lot now that we have two separate major pageants. 

The reality is that MW & MU are very different.

So how do we tell them apart? It's in the way each pageant is branded.

MW places a lot of emphasis on 'Beauty With a Purpose' calling it the heart of their pageant.

While the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) celebrates beauty. They believe it is important for every woman to be 'Confidently Beautiful.'

Let's take a deeper look at how both pageants are structured. 

Miss World vs. Miss Universe

Overview of Miss World

MW is the longest running pageant. The late Eric Morley created the pageant in 1951 and it is now managed by his wife Julia Morley. 

Requirements to Enter Miss World:

1. Female;

2. Citizen of the country you represent;

3. 17-26 years old;

4. Must not be married, nor have ever been married;

5. Must not be pregnant, or parented a child and;

6. Must have a clean record

Additionally, the winner of the pageant is also required to remain unmarried and without children during her reign.

When it comes to MW there are so many competition areas, it’s almost like a mini Olympics.

The Miss World pageant segments:

• Sports

• Social Media Challenge 

• Top Model

• Talent 

• Head to Head challenge 

• Judges Interview 

• Beauty with a Purpose

• Evening gown 

• Final Q&A 

Contestants who win the awards for Talent, Sports, Top Model, Head to Head Challenge, Social Media Challenge and Beauty With a Purpose are fast tracked into the the next round.

Side note: MW used to have a Beach Beauty fast track which was a swimsuit competition but in 2014 they decided to remove that segment.

During the 2019 pageant final, MW named a top 40, top 12 and then narrowed down to the top 5 finalists.

In addition to the winner, MW usually sashes six Continental Queens: Africa, Asia, Americas, Caribbean, Europe and Oceania. 

The top 6 contestants along with the winner travel the world doing various charity work.

Overview of Miss Universe 

Miss Universe (MU), on the other hand, is recognized as the largest pageant in the world due to its TV coverage (think: 190 countries worldwide and an audience of 500mil). Pacific Knitting Mills founded the pageant in 1952. 

The MU organization (MUO) is based in the United States. The organization was once owned by POTUS, Donald Trump but is currently owned by IMG/WME and is run by Paula Shugart who serves as the President of MUO. 

MUO is also responsible for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.

Doesn't Miss USA Compete in Miss World?

Between the years of 1953-1957 the 1st Runner Up of the Miss USA pageant competed in the Miss World Final. But not anymore. That's a job for Miss World America.

Requirements to Enter Miss Universe:

1. Female;

2. Citizen of the country you represent;

3. 18-28 years old;

4. Must not be married, nor have ever been married, nor have a marriage annulled;

5. Must not be pregnant nor given birth to, or parented a child.

Similar to MW, the MU titleholder must remain unmarried and without children throughout her reign.

The MU pageant usually sees between 80-100 countries participating in the pageant.

Miss Universe Pageant Segments: 

• Judges Interview; 

• National Costume;

• Swimsuit competition;

• Evening Gown and;

• Final Q&A

MU has a preliminary competition that determines their semi finalist in a continental format, leaving the audience with five from Europe, five from Americas, five from Africa and Asia-Pacific and five Wildcards. 

Eliminations happen after the Swimsuit, Evening Gown and first Onstage question; leaving 3 contestants to answer a final question.

After a winner is crowned, she is relocated to New York City where she meets her new MU family. 

Now let's see how the two are done on our tiny island paradise.

Miss Universe & Miss World Cayman Islands

Overview of Miss Cayman Islands Universe (MCIU)

Miss Cayman Islands Universe 2019 Contestants (L-R): Kadejah Bodden, Samantha Dixon, Aleka Beckford, Mahalia Seymour, Francine Wright, Mariah Tibbetts

In the Cayman Islands there used to be one national pageant known as the Miss Cayman Islands pageant where the winner would often compete at both MW and MU. The pageant began in 1977 and has become an annual tradition. 

The Cayman Islands government was the franchise holder for both pageants. However, in late 2016, they gave up the franchise for Miss World, thus the Miss Cayman Islands pageant became the Miss Cayman Islands Universe pageant.

Derri Nacres-Lee, Miss Cayman Islands Universe Chairperson

The current chairperson for the Miss Cayman Islands Universe pageant is Derri Dacres-Lee. 

Requirements to Enter Miss Cayman Islands Universe:

1. Be single and shall not have entered into any ceremony of marriage;

2. Must be born in the Cayman Islands, or possessing Caymanian status or Right to be Caymanian or possessing Permanent Residency and who resides in the Cayman Islands as her 'permanent and primary residence' for a period of at least six consecutive months immediately before the date of the Miss Cayman Islands Universe pageant.

(exception: if you were enrolled and attended college or university overseas during all or part of this period);

3. 18-28 years old;

4. Not be pregnant nor ever given birth to a child;

5. Be of good character with no criminal record save that convictions for minor traffic offenses be taken into consideration;

6. Be of sound mind with no record of mental illness that restricts the contestant from living a healthy lifestyle;

7. Have graduated High School or University and;

8. Must possess charm, poise, personality, intelligence, capable of handling numerous appearances if necessary, good interview skills, good stage presence, beauty of face and figure, and shall maintain the recommended range of weight for her height recommended in the guidelines issued by any reputable Fitness Association including the American Fitness Association and;

9. Successfully completes an interview with the Miss Cayman Islands Universe committee.

*For more information on the requirements email: misscaymaninfo@gmail.com

Miss Cayman Islands Universe Pageant Segments:

• Judges Interview;

• Swimsuit competition;

• Evening Gown and;

• Final Q&A

The only segment of competition that MCIU contestants do not compete in is the National Costume segment.

Overview of Miss World Cayman Islands (MWCI)

Pamela Ebanks-Small, owner and director of Miss World Cayman Islands

In 2017, the MWCI pageant came on the scene as a separate entity when Pamela Ebanks-Small (Miss Cayman Islands 1992) was awarded the franchise for the pageant, making her the owner and director of the MWCI pageant.

Miss World Cayman Islands 2018 Contestants with Miss World Cayman Islands 2017, Kristin Amaya (centered). (L-R): Kelsie Woodman-Bodden, Roseanne Myles, Nateisha Foster, Zorina McCoon.

Ms. Ebanks-Small then selected Kristin Amaya (centered above), who was the 1st Runner Up to 2017 Miss Cayman Islands Universe title, to represent the Cayman Islands at the Miss World Final. In 2018, the inaugural MWCI pageant was held on 29 September, where four women competed for the title.

Requirements to Enter Miss World Cayman Islands:

1. Caymanian;

2. 18-25 years old;

3. No children;

4. Never married;

5. Clean police record;

6. Valid health Insurance;

7. Drivers License;

8. Copy of valid entry entry into the US and UK and;

9. A strong desire to represent the Cayman Islands at MW Final

*To learn more about the requirements email missworldcayman@gmail.com

MWCI pageant contestants compete in most of the same segments as the international competition except for the Social Media Challenge, the Head to Head Challenge, and Talent. The local pageant also includes a swimsuit competition as part of its Top Model segment.

Both the Sports and Judges Interview segments take place prior to the day of the pageant.

Number of Contestants in Miss World Cayman Islands & Miss Cayman Islands Universe 

Because the Cayman Islands is a small country the contestant numbers are usually small especially when compared to other countries.

In recent years, MCIU has had between 5-12 contestants and then there’s MWCI which is still a new pageant and has had between 4-5 contestants.

Due to the small contestant numbers neither pageant uses eliminations within their systems.

Final Thoughts

And there you have everyone, that's the difference between Miss World and Miss Universe both internationally and locally.

Hopefully this clears up any confusion you may have had surrounding the two pageants.

Now that you know the difference between them, you should be able to see the benefit of having both systems.

With MW and MU having different brands the two pageant systems will naturally appeal to different women based on their interests.

This creates more opportunities for women to compete for an international title, be an official ambassador, all while gaining international exposure.