Miss World 1951

Miss World 1951 was the first Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 29 July 1951. The contest was originally intended to be a one-off event connected with the Festival of Britain.

At the end of the event, Kiki Håkansson of Sweden was announced as Miss World 1951. This is the first victory of Sweden in the history of the pageant. Håkansson is also the only winner to be crowned wearing a bikini.

Twenty-seven contestants from seven countries participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.

Location and date
The decade of the 1950s began and Europe was just beginning to rise after World War II. In Britain, people slowly returned to normal. Herbert Morrison, a member of the British parliament, began planning the centennial celebration of the 1851 Great Exhibition. In the summer of 1951, the “Festival of Great Britain” was finally born and it was located in Central London, on the banks of the River Thames.

The Lyceum Ballroom, located half a mile from the South Bank where the Festival of Great Britain was being held, belonged to Mecca Dancing. Being so close to the headquarters of the Festival of Great Britain, Mecca Dancing was asked by the event's organizers if they could contribute in any way to the Festival. Eric Morley was the Publicity Sales Manager of Mecca Dancing, responsible for finding innovative ideas for the Festival. He wanted to create some activity or event that would attract attention, not only to young people but to people of all ages. This is how he suggested creating an international beauty pageant and proposed it to the organizers. Morley’s suggestion was accepted and the planning of the first Miss World pageant was in full swing. He saw how Bikini fashion was popular and decided that the contest would show beautiful women wearing that tiny garment. Initially, the event would be called “Girl Bikini Contest of the Festival of Great Britain” but due to its international character and after the comment of some journalists, Morley decided to call it “Miss World” after making sure that name had not been previously used or patented. The first Miss World contest would be held that summer of 1951, being one of the last events of the Festival of Great Britain.

Debuts and withdrawals
Twenty-seven contestants from seven countries were selected to compete in the pageant. This edition marked the debuts of Denmark, France, Great Britain, Holland, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States. Originally, there were thirty contestants competing in the pageant, but Mary Akroyd and two more married ladies decided not to show up due to their husbands’ objection to showing themselves wearing bikinis before the eyes of other men.

Contestants
Twenty-seven contestants competed for the title.