Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK – The National Director of the Miss Namibia pageant, Conny Maritz, has stated that the beauty parade will again be without the swimwear category this year. Speaking to Entertainment Now!, Maritz said they are still following that inclination.
“We decided to oblige with this because it is an international trend,” she said.
The removal of the category came about when the Miss World pageant organisers announced the elimination of the swimwear category from the official programme in 2015. Maritz said other categories that contestants will have to excel in are the interview category, on-stage presence, evening gown and the questions from the judges.
Although the judges’ names have not been released yet, Maritz said there would be five judges adjudicating. “There will be five judges on the evening that will be responsible for selecting the best suitable lady to be Miss Namibia 2019,” she said.
The swimwear category is, however, included in the Miss Universe pageant, which the incumbent Miss Namibia is expected to wear.
Over the years, there has been debate on whether bikinis or swimwear should be included in pageants. In 1947, the Miss USA outlawed bikinis because of Roman Catholic protesters but allowed it in 1997. The pageant eventually dropped the bikini/swimwear category last year. In the 1951, the first Miss World winner, Kiki Håkansson from Sweden, was crowned in a bikini. Countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates and Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning as sinful.
In the “Beauty of Form and Figure” preliminary judging in Miss Earth 2017, the participants walked in white two-piece bikinis but their faces were covered with a white veil to focus the judging on the body figures.