Miss America 2016, the 89th

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant, was held at the

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlant ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

on Sunday, September 13, 2015. It was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and streamed to mobile devices and

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consoles via the WatchABC app. Tickets for the 2016 Miss America competition went on sale June 5, 2015.

Kira Kazantsev Kira Dixon (née Kazantsev; born July 20, 1991) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss America 2015 on September 14, 2014. She is the third consecutive Miss America winner from New York and had won the title of Miss New York on ...

(

Miss New York The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss New York organization's license ...

2014) crowned her successor, Miss Georgia 2015,

Betty Cantrell Baciliky Andris "Betty" Maxwell (née Cantrell; born September 1, 1994) is an American singer, actress, model, author, and beauty pageant titleholder from Warner Robins, Georgia, who was crowned Miss Georgia 2015. On September 13, 2015, she wa ...

at the end of the two-hour nationally televised event. According to Miss America's website, the pageant got around 7.9 million views.

Overview

There were 52 women competing for the title, down from 53 contestants in the 2014 pageant, as the

Miss Virgin Islands The Miss Virgin Islands competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the territory of United States Virgin Islands in the Miss America pageant. The competition did not renew its license in 2015 and did not send a contestant to th ...

pageant organization did not renew their license and is no longer sending representatives for the Miss America pageant. The panel of preliminary competition judges included publicist and talent producer Brian Edwards,

Miss America 1979 Miss America 1979, the 52nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1978 on NBC, NBC Network. Kylene Barker was the first Miss Virginia to win the crown. Results Placements Order of an ...

Kylene Barker Kylene Barker (born 11 November 1955) is an American pageant winner from Galax, Virginia who was Miss Virginia 1978 and Miss America 1979. Early life Barker was born in Galax, Virginia to father Kyle and mother Dolores (deceased 2006). She att ...

, producer

Jenni Pulos ''Flipping Out'' is an American reality television series that debuted on Bravo on July 31, 2007, and ended on November 20, 2018. The show is centered on designer Jeff Lewis in Los Angeles, California, his executive assistant Jenni Pulos, his ...

, fashion and style expert Rachel Zalis, fashion designer Noah Alexander, D.C. lobbyist Lanny Griffith, and actor/model James Brown III.

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

(who was crowned

Miss America 1984 Miss America 1984, the 57th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 17, 1983 on NBC Network. Debra Maffett (Miss California 1982) crowned her successor, Miss New York 1983, Vanessa Williams a ...

but was forced to resign a few weeks before her reign ended) served as head judge and performed ''

Oh How the Years Go By "Oh How the Years Go By" is a song written by Simon Climie and Will Jennings. It was originally included on Climie's debut solo album ''Soul Inspiration'' in 1992 and released as a single in 1993, but failed to chart. Cover versions Amy Grant cov ...

''. The pageant began with Miss America CEO Sam Haskell issuing an apology to Williams, telling her that although "none of us currently in the organization were involved then, on behalf of today's organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less the Miss America you are and the Miss America you always will be."

Suzette Charles Suzette Charles (born Suzette DeGaetano, March 2, 1963) is an American singer, entertainer, and actress. She was Miss New Jersey in 1983, and served as Miss America 1984 for seven weeks after Vanessa L. Williams resigned from the position that Ju ...

(Williams' replacement) said in an interview with ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is no ...

'' that she was perplexed over the apology and suggested that it was given for the purpose of ratings. Williams also commented on the events surrounding her return, stating in an interview with Robin Roberts that "there's a lot of people who feel I should return, so the people who harbor the resentment I understand it but realize that all of those people that were part of the old guard are no longer there."

Results

Placements

* - America's Choice

Order of announcements

Top 15

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Top 12

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Top 10

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Top 7

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Awards

Preliminary awards

Quality of Life award

Other awards

Contestants

Pageant notes

Withdraws

* - Due to lack of sponsorships

Notes

External links

Vanessa Williams and Her Mother Receive an Apology From Miss America Organization
-

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

, September 14, 2015. {{Miss America 2016 Delegates

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

September 2015 events in the United States 2015 beauty pageants 2015 in New Jersey Vanessa Williams Events in Atlantic City, New Jersey