The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s for women – Miss World,

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

Miss International Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant i ...

and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the ''

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...

'' newspaper in 2004 as "the world's four major beauty contests". In April 2008, the '' South China Morning Post'' described them as "four of the world's top beauty pageants"; the same description was also used by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

's leading newspaper, ''

Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...

'' in 2010. In 2017, the ''

Latin Times IBT Media is an American global digital news organization with over 90 million monthly readers, owned by followers of religious leader David Jang. It publishes the ''International Business Times'' and ''Medical Daily'', among others. IBT Media ...

'' considered the group as the "most important pageants in the world". In 2018,

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

referred to them as the "four biggest international pageants", while ''

Agencia EFE Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

'' delineated them in 2019 as the "four most influential beauty pageants in the world".

The Big Four beauty pageants

Hundreds of thousands of beauty contests are held annually, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

, and global

news agencies A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, ...

such as

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and Agence France-Presse collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely: * Miss World is the oldest existing major international

. It was created in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by Eric Morley in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. Since Morley's death in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, his widow, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant. *

is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the

Miss Universe Organization Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Str ...

. The contest was founded in 1952 by

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then

Gulf+Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...

Industries, before being acquired by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in 1996, WME/

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...

in 2015, and is currently owned by Thai-based

JKN Global Group JKN Global Group Public Company Limited (formerly known as STGCP, JKN Living and JKN Global Media) is a Thai multinational conglomerate founded by Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip. Its headquarters are in the JKN Empire building in Samut Prakan, Thai ...

. *

, also called "Miss International Beauty", is a

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

-based international beauty pageant organized by The International Culture Association. The pageant was first held in 1960. * Miss Earth is an annual international environmental-themed

promoting

environmental awareness Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

organized by

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

-based Carousel Productions through the

Miss Earth Foundation Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or " Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, i ...

and was first held in 2001. The pageant is affiliated and works on projects with other institutions, including Greenpeace,

World Wildlife Foundation The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

, and

United Nations Environment Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

. File:Kiki Håkansson in 1950.jpg, Miss World 1951
First winner of Miss World

Kiki Håkansson Kerstin Margareta "Kiki" Håkansson (17 June 1929 – 11 November 2011) was a Swedish model and beauty queen who was the first winner of the Miss World beauty pageant after being crowned Miss Sweden World in 1951. Miss World 1951 Originally th ...

,
Sweden File:Armi Kuusela-1.jpg, Miss Universe 1952
First winner of Miss Universe

Armi Kuusela Armi Helena Kuusela (born 20 August 1934) is a Finnish-American charity worker, model and beauty queen. In 1952, she won the Finnish national beauty contest Suomen Neito and was presented with a trip to the United States to participate in the fi ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

File:Catharina Svensson, Miss Earth 2001.jpg,

Miss Earth 2001 Miss Earth 2001, the 1st Miss Earth pageant, organized by Carousel Productions. The pageant coronation night was held on October 28, 2001 at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Philippines. There were 42 delegates who compet ...

First winner of Miss Earth

Catharina Svensson Catharina Brink ( Svensson; born July 24, 1982) is a Danish lawyer, equestrienne, model and beauty queen who won the first ever Miss Earth 2001. Biography and career Svensson was originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, and carries dual citizenship ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

In April 2008, Cynthia Kanema of Zambia earned the distinction of the first woman to have participated the world's top four beauty pageants: Miss World 2003,

Miss International 2004 Miss International 2004, the 44th Miss International pageant, was held on October 16, 2004 at the Workers Indoor Arena in Beijing, China. This is the first time event to be held in China for contest was being held outside of Japan and the United ...

Miss Universe 2005 Miss Universe 2005 was the 54th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi Province, Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand on May 31, 2005,. At the end of the event, Jennifer Hawkins of Australia crowned Natalie Glebova of ...

, and Miss Earth 2005. In 2011, Miss South Africa

Bokang Montjane Bokang Montjane (born 5 May 1986 in Transvaal) is a South African model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2010, becoming the official representative of her country to the Miss Universe 2011 and Miss World 2011 p ...

became the second woman to have competed in all of the Big Four pageants:

Miss Earth 2007 Miss Earth 2007, the 7th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 12, 2007 at the University of the Philippines Theater, inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City, Philippines. 30 delegates al ...

(Top 16), Miss International 2009,

Miss Universe 2011 Miss Universe 2011 was the 60th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011. At the end of the event, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico crowned Leila Lopes of Angola as Miss Universe 2011. It is the f ...

Miss World 2011 Miss World 2011, the 61st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 6 November 2011 at the Earls Court Two in London, United Kingdom. As part of the events, the contestants also travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland between 23 and 27 Octobe ...

(Top 7).

Most victorious countries/territory

The first country to win all four major international pageant titles was

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, when it won

Miss Earth 2004 Miss Earth 2004, the 4th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on October 24, 2004 at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Dania Prince of Honduras crowned her successor Priscilla Meirelles of ...

. Brazil has won two Miss Universe crowns, two Miss Earth crowns, one Miss World crown, and one Miss International crown. In winning Miss Earth 2005,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

became the second country to win titles for each of the Big Four pageants. It has produced seven Miss Universe titles, eight Miss International titles, six Miss World titles, and two Miss Earth titles. By winning

Miss Earth 2013 Miss Earth 2013, the 13th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on December 7, 2013 at the Versailles Palace in Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines. Tereza Fajksová of the Czech Republic crowned her successor Alyz Henrich of Venezuela ...

, Venezuela became the first and so far only country to win all four pageants multiple times. After winning

Miss World 2013 Miss World 2013, the 63rd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 28 September 2013 at Bali International Convention Center, South Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. It was the first time in Southeast Asia and it also was the first time in the page ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

was the third country to win all titles of the Big Four pageants. The Philippines currently has six Miss International crowns, four Miss Earth crowns, four Miss Universe crowns, and one Miss World crown. By winning

Miss International 2013 Miss International 2013, the 53rd Miss International pageant, was held on December 17, 2013 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Alejandra Andreu, Miss International 2008, crowned Bea Santiago of the Philippines at the end of th ...

Miss Earth 2014 Miss Earth 2014, the 14th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 29, 2014 at the University of the Philippines Theater, inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City, Philippines. Alyz Henrich of ...

Miss Earth 2015 Miss Earth 2015, the 15th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on 5 December 2015 at Marx Halle in Vienna, Austria. Jamie Herrell of the Philippines crowned her compatriot Angelia Ong as successor at the end of the event. It was the firs ...

, and

Miss Universe 2015 Miss Universe 2015 was the 64th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 20, 2015. This was the first edition of the pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, whic ...

, the Philippines achieved the feat in a span of only three calendar years. The country continued its streak after winning

Miss International 2016 Miss International 2016, the 56th Miss International pageant, was held on October 27, 2016 at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Edymar Martínez from Venezuela crowned her successor Kylie Verzosa from the Philippines at the end of the ...

Miss Earth 2017 Miss Earth 2017, the 17th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, with the theme "Heroines fighting climate change", was held on November 4, 2017 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Katherine Espín of Ecuador crowned her ...

, and

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of ...

, and currently holds the distinction of longest streak of wins in all four major beauty pageants with a streak of six successive years. After winning Miss Earth 2019,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

became the first territory to win all titles of the Big Four pageants. It currently has five

crowns and two of each in Miss World and

. After winning Miss Earth 2020, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

became the fourth country to win in all titles of the Big Four pageants. It currently has eight

crowns, three crowns in Miss World, and three crowns in

. The following countries and territory have won each Big Four pageant at least once:

Longest streak of wins

The

holds the longest streak of winning at least one of the Big Four pageant titles in a single year with wins in six consecutive years from 2013 to 2018 (

and

, and

), and is currently the only country in the world to win at least once in all of the Big Four pageant titles in any of its titles streak. Venezuela ranks second overall in streak of Big Four pageant wins, lasting four consecutive years from 2008 to 2011 (

Miss Universe 2008 Miss Universe 2008 was the 57th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008. This was the first time that the Miss Universe pageant was broadcast in 1080i High-definition. At the end of t ...

Miss Universe 2009 Miss Universe 2009 was the 58th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Imperial Ballroom in Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas on August 23, 2009. At the end of the event, Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela crowned Stefanía Fernández of V ...

, Miss International 2010,

Multiple wins in the same year

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

became the first nation to win at least 2 of the Big 4 beauty pageant titles in the same year, winning in 1953 (Miss Universe and Miss World), followed by

in 1968 (Miss Universe and Miss International), Australia in 1972 (Miss Universe and Miss World),

in 1981 (Miss Universe and Miss World) as well as in 2013 (Miss Universe and Miss Earth),

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1994 and 2000 (Miss Universe and Miss World),

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

in 2011 (Miss International and Miss Earth), and the

in 2013 (Miss World and Miss International) and 2015 (Miss Universe and Miss Earth).

Back-to-back wins

In Miss World, three back-to-back victories have been recorded. In its first two editions, Sweden recorded back-to-back with Kiki Hakansson and May-Louise Flodin in Miss World 1951 and Miss World 1952, respectively. United Kingdom contestants

Ann Sidney Ann Sidney (born 27 March 1944) is a British actress, TV Host and beauty queen who won the 1964 Miss World contest representing the United Kingdom. Early life Sidney moved to Poole when very young. She went to Martin Road School in Parkstone a ...

and Lesley Langley duplicated this feat in Miss World 1964 and Miss World 1965, respectively. The most recent back-to-back Miss World victories came from India, with Yukta Mookhey in

Miss World 1999 Miss World 1999, the 49th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 4 December 1999 at the Olympia Hall in London, United Kingdom. The pageant was hosted by Ulrika Jonsson and model Melanie Sykes. The 1999 pageant attracted 94 delegate ...

and

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

in Miss World 2000 edition. In Miss Universe, Venezuela is currently the only country to win back-to-back in

and

. Stefanía Fernandez won the Miss Universe 2009 title in which Venezuela earned a Guinness World Record to have the first Miss Universe winner succeeded by her compatriot, Miss Universe 2008

Dayana Mendoza Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born 1 June 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model, film producer and director. She is also a former beauty queen, winner of the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008. Dayana Mendoza, in 2012, parti ...

. In Miss Earth, the victory of

Angelia Ong Angelia Gabrena Paglicawan Ong (; born June 27, 1990) is a Filipino-Chinese model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2015. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Earth 2015 pageant and won the title. Ea ...

, succeeding

Jamie Herrell Jamie Herrell (born July 12, 1994) is an American-born actress and beauty queen. She won Miss Philippines Earth 2014 and Miss Earth 2014 titles. Herrell was a recipient of the Outstanding Individual Award during the 80th Cebu City Charter Day ...

, made the Philippines to date the only country to win back-to-back in the Miss Earth pageant.

Big Four beauty pageant winners by year

As of the crowning of

Jasmin Selberg Jasmin Selberg (born 11 August 1999) is a German model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss International 2022. Early life and education Jasmin Selberg was born in Tallinn, Estonia. Her family moved from Estonia to Germany when ...

as Miss International 2022 on December 13, 2022, 222 women have won the Big Four international beauty pageants. Debut wins

Big Four beauty pageants winners by Country/Territory

Not replaced resigned or dethroned titles appear in bold and assumed titles appear in bold underlined.

Notes

References

{{Big Four Pageants *

The Big Four beauty pageants

Most victorious countries/territory

Longest streak of wins

Multiple wins in the same year

Back-to-back wins

Big Four beauty pageant winners by year

Big Four beauty pageants winners by Country/Territory

See also

Notes

References