Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant in the world in terms of the number of national winners participating in the international contest. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss Earth, the pageant is one of the Big Four beauty pageants. The Miss International Organization and the brand are currently owned (since 1968), along with Miss International Japan, by the International Cultural Association and Miss Paris Group. The pageant crown used by the organization is supplied and patented by the Mikimoto pearl company. In 2020 and again in 2021, the pageant was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The current Miss International is Huỳnh Thị Thanh Thủy of Vietnam, who was crowned on 12 November 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.

History

The pageant was created in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, United States in 1960, after the departure of the Miss Universe pageant to Miami Beach. Hosted in Long Beach until 1967, the pageant moved to Japan from 1968 to 1970, being hosted each year in the same city as the

Expo '70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

. For 1971, it was held in Long Beach again, but since that time it had been held annually in Japan until 2003. Since 2004, it is held in China or Japan. The first winner of the pageant in 1960 was Stella Araneta of Colombia. Since then, Japan became the host country and the pageant has mostly been held in Japan, around autumn season either in October or November. The pageant is also called "Miss International Beauty". The pageant advocacy is to achieve a world where women can live with positivity, inner strength and individuality. The slogan of Miss International is to "correct understanding of Japan in the international community" and "the realization of world peace through mutual understanding". It has also recently adapted the slogan "Cheer All Women". The winner of Miss International 2012, Ikumi Yoshimatsu of Japan, was stripped of her title and was not able to crown her successor due to conflict with a talent agency that threatened her safety and the pageant night itself; instead Miss International 2008, Alejandra Andreu, crowned Bea Santiago of the Philippines as Miss International 2013. Yoshimatsu was the first titleholder of the pageant from Japan to be dethroned shortly before the end of her reign. The organization was criticized for allegedly asking Yoshimatsu to skip the succession ceremony and "play sick and shut up" in order to avoid a scandal with a Japanese production company whose president was allegedly harassing her. In 2017, Kevin Lilliana Junaedy of Indonesia became the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

woman to win Miss International. 2020 and 2021 edition was the second and third times the pageant has been cancelled since 1966 edition, because of the

and Japanese government banned International events, following the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

postponement.

Recent titleholders

Gallery of winners

File:Huỳnh Thị Thanh Thủy.png, 2024, Huỳnh Thị Thanh Thủy,
File:Andrea Rubio attended the Puteri Indonesia 2024 coronation.jpg, 2023, Andrea Rubio,
File:Jasmin Selberg at the Puteri Indonesia 2023 final coronation (2).jpg, 2022, Jasmin Selberg,
File:Sireethorn Leearamwat attending Puteri Indonesia 2020.jpg, 2019, Sireethorn Leearamwat,
File:West Java Province Government Image - Miss International 2017 Kevin Lilliana Junaedy With Governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil (cropped).jpg, 2017, Kevin Lilliana,
File:Kylie Verzosa, both hands on hips (cropped).jpg, 2016, Kylie Verzosa,
File:Edymar Martinez por Belankazar.jpg, 2015, Edymar Martinez,
File:MI 2014, Valerie Hernandez.jpg, 2014, Valerie Hernandez,
File:Miss International 2013 Bea Santiago (cropped).jpg, 2013, Bea Santiago,
File:Ikumi Yoshimatsu.jpeg, 2012, Ikumi Yoshimatsu,
File:Maria Fernanda Cornejo en Mariela TV.jpg, 2011, Fernanda Cornejo,
File:Miss Mexico 08 Anagabriela Espinoza.jpg, 2009, Anagabriela Espinoza,
File:Love Is... The First TeleMovie from Eat Bulaga (2017) - Precious Lara Quigaman.png, 2005, Lara Quigaman,
File:Jeymmy Paola Vargas.png, 2004, Jeymmy Vargas,
File:Fernanda and Matthias Schmelz.jpg, 1996, Fernanda Alves,
File:AgnieszkaKotlatrska1990.jpg, 1991†, Agnieszka Kotlarska
(1972–1996),
File:Anneli Björkling (1972).jpg, 1973, Anneli Björkling,
File:Mirta Massa.jpg, 1967, Mirta Massa,
File:Gemma Cruz.jpg, 1964, Gemma Cruz,
File:StannyvanBaer1961.jpg, 1961, Stanny van Baer,

Crowns

Gallery of Miss International crowns

File:Miss International 2013 Bea Santiago (cropped).jpg, The ''Couple of Horses Tiara'', as worn by Miss International 2013, Bea Santiago of The Philippines. File:West Java Province Government Image - Miss International 2017 Kevin Lilliana Junaedy With Governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil (cropped).jpg, The '' Mikimoto Crown'', as worn by Miss International 2017, Kevin Lilliana of Indonesia. File:Jasmin Selberg at the Puteri Indonesia 2023 final coronation (2).jpg, The ''Long Beach Pearl Crown'', as worn by Miss International 2022, Jasmin Selberg of Germany. * The Long Beach Pearl Crown (

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

–present) – This crown was designed by Mrs. Bùi Thị Mỹ Cảnh - founder of Long Beach Pearl, the official crown sponsor of the Miss International Organization. The crown was used from

. The crown of Miss International 2022 (Miss International) with the theme of Cherry Blossoms welcoming the spring sun, inspired by the beauty of the cherries blooming under the spring sunshine, is the departure of spring. color, bringing the beauty of faith and positivity. The cherry blossom is a symbol of Japan, representing the spirit, strength, culture and people of Japan. Not only that, the cherry blossoms are also a symbol of intense vitality, a symbol of humility, the desire to live together peacefully, characteristic of youth. The design gathers 333 pure white pearls, symbolizing the flowers that are opening, ready to welcome the rays of spring sunshine. It is also a number that carries the meaning of luck, enthusiasm and longevity. In particular, with the highlight are 3 selected pearls with sizes up to more than 15mm, bringing the beauty of eternal life, sublimation and spread. The Miss International crown is also encrusted with 1960 white gems - symbolizing the first year the Miss International pageant was held. The fusion of feats of craftsmanship with top-notch craftsmanship, Long Beach Pearl has brought a special work for the Miss International contest. * The Mikimoto Crown (

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

–

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

;

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

–

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

) – This crown was designed by Tomohiro Yamaji for the Mikimoto Company, the official jewel sponsor of the Miss International Organization. It contains 575.31 grams of 14k and 18k gold, 650 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18 mm diameter and is valued at US$350,000. The crown was designed for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss International 2013, which was unveiled by the president of Miss International Akemi Shimomura, like the previous crown edition there are also 4 sets of small tiara's for the runners-up in this crown collection. The crown was retired after Sireethorn Leearamwat of Thailand used the crown in

. * The Couple of Horses Crown (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

–

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

;

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

–

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) – This crown was used from

–

;

–

. Same as the current Mikimoto crown, this crown was designed by Tomohiro Yamaji for the Mikimoto Company. The crown has a symbolic design with a couple of horses and 530 South Sea and Akoya pearls, there are 4 sets of small tiara's for the runners-up in this crown collection. It was retired after Valerie Hernandez of Puerto Rico used the crown in

. * The Crystal Crown ( 2006) – also known as Maki Diamond tiara, this crown was used when Daniela di Giacomo of Venezuela was crowned Miss International 2006. She was the only Miss International titleholder to wear this crown. The crown was valued at US$150,000, was made of an 18 karat combination of white and yellow gold and composed of over 1,000 precious stones. Retrieved on 11 April 2008.

References

External links

Official English website
{{Big Four Pageants International beauty pageants Recurring events established in 1960