How to Organise a Beauty Contest

Katy Perry, Eva Longoria, Britney Spears, and many other celebrities you may follow on Instagram started out as pageant queens. This fact alone proves that despite much skepticism, a beauty contest isn’t just a showing-off activity but a life-changing experience for many.

So here’s the idea: If beauty standards is your strong suit, why not host your own Miss World? Organising a beauty contest can be a fun journey, but it’s about much more than just getting a group of people together. A professional pageant can be the arrangement of hundreds of tasks, from boring operational challenges like setting up the stage to creative advertising campaigns. So how do you make the most out of this not-so-easy experience?

Why you should run a beauty contest

Recently, Gulf News posted an opinion poll on its public website asking one simple question: “Should beauty contests be banned or not?” Even though the “beauty saves the world” principle apparently won, 43% of respondents answered with yes. The main reason why many people think pageants are pernicious is that these events are believed to promote outer beauty only and dictate specific beauty standards.

That being said, if there is one reason why you should actually take the risk, that would be to kill the stereotypes. Events spread messages; this is an undeniable truth. But the beauty of event planning is that it is in your power to decide what messages deserve to be promoted. When planned right, a creative beauty contest can redefine even the most traditional conventions, including those that were born through shows like Miss Earth or Top Model. Run a competition that celebrates intellect or creativity, launch events for plus-sized models, or communicate any form of beauty positivity. It’s easy to go from limitations to no limits at all.

How to organise a beauty contest step by step

Clearly, creativity should be your best friend throughout pageant planning, but what else do you need to succeed?

Check out our ultimate beauty contest guide that will help you break down limitations and deliver value to your target community:

Establish very specific goals

As we’ve already mentioned, to make a beauty contest successful in the 21st century, you have to take bold, new action. Sit down with your client, and brainstorm the underlying messages and objectives you wish to promote. Use as much detail as possible. The main questions you need to answer at this meeting are below:

• Does the core idea appeal to your audience?
• Are you able to prevent discrimination throughout the application process?
• Is there any possibility your audience might find the theme of the contest offensive?
• What do you want your contestants to achieve in the end?
• What messages do you want to convey to observers?

Define the requirements (yes, you still need some)

There should always be one idea that ties the whole event together; otherwise, you won’t be able to define your target audience. Even if your pageant contest is all about the destruction of limitations, there must be some general guidelines that will clear up some of the grey areas for participants:

• Skin: One of the main points of criticism at beauty contests is how much skin is showing. A well-defined policy on how much skin is allowed will protect you from falling into any legal traps. A sure-fire way to make it work is banning specific types of clothing, like only underwear or swimwear.
• Age: Making sure that your entry rules cater to the target age group is fundamental. Around twenty years ago, the brutal murder of JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen from the U.S., ignited a debate about the child pageant circuit. Since then, the issue of age-appropriate hair and make-up has become one of the most controversial concerns in the industry.
• Background: Mainstream beauty competitions usually have some specific conduct and background requirements. For instance, to be admitted to the selection process in America’s Next Top Model, contestants should confirm they haven’t been involved in any national advertising campaigns before. Make sure you have a list of clearly defined eligibility requirements ready before any information about your contest goes live.

Pick a spectacular venue (or not)

Ninety percent of pageants take place in hotel ballrooms. Therefore, it makes sense that many people associate beauty events with luxurious facilities and spacious rooms. As an event planner, you can either follow the line or decide you have some more stereotypes to break.

The golden rule here should be to choose a venue that reflects the vibe of your event, which is dictated by the theme. For example, if you are running an eccentric contest with outlandish costumes, even a parking lot might be the perfect venue in this case.

Make it thematic

If you are a fan of pageants, you’ve probably noticed that child beauty contests are often tied to characters like Barbie or have a princess theme. Themes build empathy, and empathy is a perfect instrument for making events memorable. Choose one unique concept that resonates with the message your contest is trying to send to set it apart. Whether it’s a traditional Hollywood style or something crazier, like a yoga beauty contest, make it unforgettable.

Attract sponsors

Because pageants usually attract a great deal of media attention, these events can be the perfect way to promote a business. Build a list of local businesses that can potentially sponsor a beauty contest, and write your pitch-perfect pitch that will prove the value of their investment in your contest. Not only will it give you extra funding but a strategic partnership is capable of many things, from increased visibility on social media to the expansion of your contact base.

Plan winner selection details

Last but not least, determine the criteria for judging the beauty contest, and describe the process of evaluation to both the judges and participants.

Your plan should involve a detailed voting system, a set of criteria, a mechanism for votes collection, and verbal critique planning. It can be helpful to use a software system to automate voting and analytics, especially for large-scale contests. If you want the evaluation to be public, check out online tools with handy public voting modules that let the spectators take the matter into their own hands.

Conclusion

A successful pageant in the 21st century is the one that is capable of breaking any limitations. We hope that these beauty contest tips will guide you through the effective planning and execution of your unique event with online contest management software.