Every year on April 8th, International Pageant Day celebrates the women around the world who compete in pageants. This is also a day to encourage girls and young women to think about the benefits that pageants have to offer.
The history of the beauty pageant goes back as far as 1839. However, it wasn’t until 1921 that the first competitive beauty pageant took place. The event happened on the boardwalk of Atlantic City. The beauty pageant featured women between the ages of 17 through 25. All of them were vying for the first-ever “Miss America” title. The first International pageant was held 8 years later in Galveston, Texas. The winner was from Austria. This international pageant would eventually become the Miss Universe Pageant.
Beauty pageants continue to be very popular. In fact, some beauty pageants, like Miss England, recently had 20,000 applicants. There are many reasons women continue to compete in beauty pageants. Some of these reasons include:
- Increases confidence
- Promotes networking and social connections
- Encourages self-discipline
- Allows women to use their natural gifts and talents with others
- Encourages volunteerism and charitable work
- Provides a way to win scholarships to further education
- Helps women overcome shyness and other social barriers
On an international level, pageants can also help women who are competing to learn about other countries’ cultures. This can help women to overcome prejudices, speak out against racism, and foster unity among women throughout the world.
HOW TO OBSERVE #InternationalPageantDay
On International Pageant Day, many pageants throughout the world offer discounts on their entry fees. Other companies may also provide discounts on clothes, shoes, and other items necessary to compete in pageants. If you are a young woman, this is a great day to consider competing in a beauty pageant. If you have daughters, you may want to encourage them to compete in local pageants. Other ways to participate include:
- Look up the reigning Miss Universe and learn more about her.
- Watch beauty pageants online.
- Check out movies like Miss Congeniality, Miss Firecracker, Beautiful, Little Miss Sunshine, and other films that feature pageants.
- Discuss with others the benefits that beauty pageants offer for those competing.
Don’t forget to share this day on social media with #InternationalPageantDay.
International Pageant Day has been observed on April 8th since 2018.
Lesotho continues to celebrate pageantry in unique ways, the past two weeks swathe wake of Ekegant designs and marua-A-pula, while this weekend TGee modelling agency celebrated in their own ways as well, in this mini-gallery,have a sneak peak of some the most outstanding designs and models from the 3 different fashion industry major players.