Miss World Comes to Warsaw

Almost the whole of Poland plummeted into a deep, universal depression during June as the country took in with disbelieving eyes the country's woeful World Cup performance. In the space of a single week, the optimism and enthusiasm built up from a promising qualifying campaign was sapped from the population. Ambitious dreams of celebrating World Cup glory so close to home evaporated as the national team disappointed in an all too inevitable manner.

That said, with the memories of a summer of gloom slowly fading, Poland again braces itself for global success - this time in the form of Miss World 2006 which will take place in the country's capital. Though seen as a little low-brow by the British and others (its only because they never win), Miss World is actually the world's largest annual live television event with over two billion reported viewers. Bronzed up, buffed beauties from over 100 countries will descend on Warsaw on September 30th to bat their eyelids, flash their pearly whites (and anything else that'll give them an advantage) and do their best pro-world peace speeches in a bid to waltz away with the title of Miss World 2006. Warsaw, and specifically the Sala Kongresowa can take pride in the fact that this year's Miss World will be the first time the event will have taken place in a European city other than London.

World's finest wing their way to Warsaw

Despite the less than serious way in which the competition is viewed in the UK and USA, the hosting of the event in Warsaw is seen as a real coup for Poland with the potential to significantly boost the countries economy and help to continue the constant process of getting both Poland and Warsaw firmly on the map as major EU-players. Independent studies suggest that 20,000 new jobs will be created through the organisation and hosting of the event with over 40 million coming into the countries coffers between 2007 and 2010. Tourism will undoubtedly receive a huge boost and it is expected that the contest will not only raise Warsaw's profile but Poland as a whole will receive significant global media attention and experts believe this form of coverage is vital in portraying the country in a positive light to potential foreign investors. Direct employment from the month-long event with regards to organising and directing the event is expected to top four thousand while sponsorship and marketing revenues are also expected to increase considerably. Miss World will bring this attention to Poland naturally whereas the report believes a similar attempt to stimulate the local and national economy would cost in excess of 6 million.

The Miss World organisers can count on a real hotbed of domestic support as well with 90% of Poles admitting to having watched previous contests and 70% saying they expect to watch this year's finals. Indeed most Poles believe the hosting of Miss World will be nothing but good for the economy and the reputation of the country as a whole.

Despite often being lumped alongside less serious global events, Miss World continues to devote most of its benefits and time to highlighting the plight of others. 2002's event was notorious for its last-minute re-location from Nigeria to London amid the political furore caused by the sentencing to death by stoning of Amina Lawal, a Nigerian women accused of having committed adultery. Escalating tension and the refusal of many contestants to participate were ultimately crucial in the decision to move the pageant away from Nigeria. In addition, Miss World is credited with having put Sanya, China on the tourist map as a result of three consecutive Miss World pageants having been held there. Charity work gets a bit of much-appreciated help from the beauties too with much of a Miss World winner's tasks during the year-long reign being devoted to helping the needy causes. Conservative estimates put Miss World competition earning devoted to charity at around 250million since the inaugural competition in 1951.

Most of this money has been raised under the banner "Beauty with a Purpose", a programme established by Julie Morley, wife of Eric Morley, the competition's founder. Backed by the immense popularity and power of the Miss World brand, the "Beauty with a Purpose" programme has generated funds for numerous children's charities and needy causes, notably Variety, the children's charity as well as Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Variety Club Children's Hospital at King's College London. In addition, the strength of the brand is reflected in its franchising in over 140 countries around the world, allowing funds to be generated globally indirectly as well as directly through the Miss World mantra. International efforts include work with the Cleft Palate Team, a group that provides support and funds for much needed surgery for those suffering from cleft palate disorders in South America and Russia. Similarly Life Project also receives funds as a result of the competition and these go towards providing funds necessary for much needed operations for children around the world.

What's in it for the girls themselves? Well, apart from helping to raise funds for worthy causes and highlighting the plight of the less fortunate, Miss World contestants and eventual winners not only benefit from the experience of travelling to exotic locations as part of the qualification and competition process but also have the chance to set themselves up financially or kick-start potentially lucrative careers in the world of celebrity. Winner of Miss World 1994, Sun City, South Africa, Aishwarya Rai is perhaps the best example of the potential rewards gained from winning the competition. Rai used the platform of being India's second ever Miss World winner to launch a career as Bollywood filmstar. Today, she is regarded as undoubtedly the most powerful woman in the Indian film industry and continues to branch out into the international film industry. In 2000, she was voted the Most Beautiful Miss World of All Time, a claim echoed by Julia Roberts at the Cannes Film Festival of the same year as she is reported to have called Rai the most beautiful woman in the world. Indeed, her international fame has grown at such an impressive rate that Hello Magazine readers voted her as the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, and appearances on primetime American television shows such as 60 minutes, the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Early Show followed. Indeed David Letterman introduced her onto his primetime chat show as "the biggest movie star in the world". Years of dominating the Asian and Bollywood awards, finally resulted in a starring role in the 2004 English production Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood-inspired interpretation of Jane Austen's classic, Pride and Prejudice, which earned a 400% return on global investment, firmly establishing Rai as one of world cinemas most prominent players. Her global popularity was represented by the naming of a breed of tulip being named after her while visiting an Amsterdam film festival. Though of course not all Miss World winners achieve such dazzling heights, Aishwarya Rai certainly provides proof of the potential benefits offered by winning the award and serves as perhaps the best inspiration to would-be contestants and winners.

Since its modest beginnings as a side-show event to the Festival of Britain on London's south bank, the Miss World pageant has evolved over time from being a quest to simply find the world's most beautiful woman to a month-long competition, were contestants are put through their paces in all manner of ways as a means to finding the not just the world's most physically beautiful woman but also the most worthy person. As well as rigorous interviews and beauty-based challenges, contestants are also requested to partake in sports events, talent contests, display an ability to help the needy and the time-honoured classic the beach photo shoot. These events are spread across a whole month, thus ensuring that finalists are vetted thoroughly and that only the very richest cream rises to the top.

Here in Poland, things are hotting up as the event moves ever-closer. The Miss Polonia semi-finals took place on Monday, 17th July at the Bajka cinema-theatre in Warsaw, where 20 of Poland's finest girls were selected to battle it out for the 'golden ticket' to represent Poland on home turf at the Miss World competitions during September with the ultimate hope of scooping glory on September 30th. The Miss Polonia final will take place on August 19th leaving the winner with little over two weeks to prepare for the real deal in September.

The pageant's organisers recently announced the location for this year's sports element of the Miss World competition. The Sportswoman event will take place in Gizycko, a charming tourist town set in the heart of Poland's stunning lake region. Apart from bringing valued media attention and international tourism to the region, there will be much at stake for the girls with the winner of the event receiving a golden fastrack ticket to the ultimate final to be held in Warsaw on September 30th. It won't be enough to have the brain in gear and the smile and make up perfected - the girls will be put through their paces in, among other events, running, swimming and long jumps competitions. Think of it as like the Olympics with the small difference that every single contestant will be stunningly beautiful and you're unlikely to see any of the steroid-pumped Eastern bloc she-men dominating the competition.

Keep your eyes peeled for regular updates on how the competition progresses here and in our news section or check out the contestants at the official website. Our personal favourite, other than Miss Polonia of course, is Miss Mexico!