POSITIVE RUNWAY aims to bridge the gap in the global efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by speaking the same language as the young generation in order to get the message across.

POSITIVE RUNWAY is a global HIV/AIDS response campaign that is planned to reach the world working with beauty queens, models, fashion designers, music artists and celebrities from film, music, television, sport and other arts as influential advocates in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS and other scourges affecting today’s young generation such as child trafficking, sexual responsibility, child abuse, drugs abuse, gun and knife violence, as well as negative peer pressure, among many other vices.  As a global campaign, Positive Runway aims to heal the world by linking hands, minds and hearts to bring the world together in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS through the unstoppable and powerful forces of celebrities, models and Beauty Queens.

Young people in the 21st Century are obsessed with celebrity worship and most of them are easily influenced by, and believe in emulating the lifestyles and life choices of people in the social limelight.  POSITIVE RUNWAY: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread therefore, uses the allure of movie stars, models, fashion designers, music artistes and other celebrities to shout out a strong positive message to “Stop the Spread!” as we believe that when words and other formal efforts fail, celebrities, fashion, music, beauty and entertainment will speak effectively to the young generation by speaking the same language as the young generation in order to get the message across.

The target audience of the message from POSITIVE RUNWAY: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread are young people aged 16-24 or even younger who may be sexually active.

POSITIVE RUNWAY: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread® was launched in London, United Kingdom in 2008 and now has membership and country Representatives in over 30 countries in more than 5 continents across the globe.

Miss South Africa 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned as the new Miss Universe 2017 by Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere during the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant finale at The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, who recently earned a business management degree, was crowned Sunday during the event that took place at The AXIS theater at Planet Hollywood casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Miss South Africa 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters reacts as she is crowned the new Miss Universe 2017 by Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere during the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant at The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images).

The runner-up was Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez. The second runner-up was Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett. Ninety-two women from around the world participated in the decades-old competition. This year’s edition had the most contestants ever.

Contestants walk across the stage at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Miss South Africa 2017 answers her Top 5 Final Question on stage with Host, Steve Harvey during The MISS UNIVERSE® Competition airing on FOX at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26th from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The contestants have spent the last few weeks touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, left, and Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez hold hands before they announce the winner at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Miss South Africa 2017 answers her Top 5 Final Question on stage with Host, Steve Harvey during The MISS UNIVERSE® Competition airing on FOX at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26th from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The contestants have spent the last few weeks touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Laura González, Miss Colombia 2017 answers her Top 5 Final Question on stage with Host, Steve Harvey during The MISS UNIVERSE® Competition airing on FOX at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26th from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The contestants have spent the last few weeks touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Laura González, Miss Colombia 2017 answers her Top 5 Final Question on stage with Host, Steve Harvey during The MISS UNIVERSE® Competition airing on FOX at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26th from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The contestants have spent the last few weeks touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe Glam Shoot Behind Scenes at  Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants were touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. The Telecast was on FOX at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Yasmine Cooke, Miss Bahamas 2017; Louise Victor, Miss Saint Lucia 2017; Cassandra Chery, Miss Haiti 2017; and Davina Bennett, Miss Jamaica 2017; at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Ariela Machado, Miss Paraguay 2017 at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Davina Bennett, Miss Jamaica 2017 at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Cassandra Chery, Miss Haiti 2017; and Davina Bennett, Miss Jamaica 2017; at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Ariela Machado, Miss Paraguay 2017 at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Alicia Aylies, Miss France 2017; Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir, Miss Iceland 2017; and Nashaira Balentien, Miss Curacao 2017; during the Café Hollywood Glam video shoot at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Keysi Sayago, Miss Venezuela 2017 at Café Hollywood in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 19, 2017. The Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the Miss Universe crown in Las Vegas, NV. Tune in to the FOX telecast at 7:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Sunday, November 26, live from the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see who will become the next Miss Universe. HO/The Miss Universe Organization

Today, the word “tiara” is often used interchangeably with the word “diadem“, and tiara is often translated to a word similar to diadem in other languages. Both words come from head ornaments worn by ancient men and women to denote high status. As Geoffrey Munn notes, “The word ‘tiara’ is actually Persian in origin — the name first denoted the high-peaked head-dresses of Persian kings, which were encircled by ‘diadems’ (bands of purple and white decoration). Now, it is used to describe almost every form of decorative head ornament.” Ancient Greeks and Romans used gold to make wreath-shaped head ornaments, while the Scythians’ resembled a stiff halo that would serve as the inspiration for later Russian kokoshniks. The use of tiaras and diadems declined along with the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity.

Definition of crown

Ref: Wikipedia, Webster

A beauty pageant or beauty contest is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants, although some contests have evolved to also incorporate personality traits, intelligence, talent, and answers to judges’ questions as judged criteria. The term almost invariably refers only to contests for unmarried women such as the Big Four international beauty pageants. Similar events or competition for men or boys being called by other names and more likely to be bodybuilding contests.

The organizers of each pageant may determine the rules of the competition, including the age range of contestants. The rules may also require the contestants to be unmarried, and be “virtuous”, “amateur”, and available for promotions, besides other criteria. It may also set the clothing standards in which contestants will be judged, including the type of swimsuit.

Beauty pageants are generally multi-tiered, with local competitions feeding into the larger competitions. For example, the international pageants have hundreds or thousands of local competitions. Child beauty pageants mainly focus on beauty, gowns, sportswear modelling, talent, and personal interviews. Adult and teen pageants focus on makeup, hair and gowns, swimsuit modelling, and personal interviews. A winner of a beauty contest is often called a beauty queen. The rankings of the contestants are referred to as placements.

Possible awards include titles, tiaras or crowns, sashes, scepters, savings bonds, scholarships, and cash prizes. However, adult and teen pageants have been moving more towards judging speaking. Some pageants award college scholarships, to the winner or multiple runners-up.

Early years

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European festivals dating to the medieval era provide the most direct lineage for beauty pageants. For example, English May Day celebrations always involved the selection of a May Queen. In the United States, the May Day tradition of selecting a woman to serve as a symbol of bounty and community ideals continued, as young beautiful women participated in public celebrations.

A beauty pageant was held during the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, organized by Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, as part of a re-enactment of a medieval joust that was held in Scotland. The pageant was won by Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, the wife of Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset, and sister of Caroline Norton, and she was proclaimed as the “Queen of Beauty”.

Entrepreneur Phineas Taylor Barnum staged the first modern American pageant in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down after public protest.

National pageants

Beauty contests became more popular in the 1880s. In 1888, the title of ‘beauty queen’ was awarded to an 18-year-old Creole contestant at a pageant in Spa, Belgium. All participants had to supply a photograph and a short description of themselves to be eligible to enter and a final selection of 21 was judged by a formal panel. Such events were not regarded as respectable. Beauty contests came to be considered more respectable with the first modern “Miss America” contest held in 1921.

The oldest pageant still in operation today is the Miss America pageant, which was organized in 1921 by a local businessman as a means to entice tourists to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The pageant hosted the winners of local newspaper beauty contests in the “Inter-City Beauty” Contest, which was attended by over one hundred thousand people. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. was crowned Miss America 1921, having won both the popularity and beauty contests, and was awarded $100.

International pageants

In May 1920, promoter C.E. Barfield of Galveston, Texas organized a new event known as “Splash Day” on the island. The event featured a “Bathing Girl Revue” competition as the centerpiece of its attractions. The event was the kick-off of the summer tourist season in the city and was carried forward annually. The event quickly became known outside of Texas and, beginning in 1926, the world’s first international contest was added, known as the International Pageant of Pulchritude. This contest is said to have served as a model for modern pageants. It featured contestants from England, Russia, Turkey, and many other nations and the title awarded at the time was known as “Miss Universe”. The event was discontinued in the United States in 1932 because of the Depression (the international competition was revived briefly in Belgium).

After World War II

The popularity of the Miss America pageant prompted other organizations to establish similar contests in the 1950s and beyond. Some were significant while others were trivial, such as the National Donut Queen contest. The Miss World contest started in 1951, Miss Universe started in 1952 as did Miss USA. Miss International started in 1960. The Miss Black America contest started in 1968 in response to the exclusion of African American women from the Miss America pageant. The Miss Universe Organization started the Miss Teen USA in 1983 for the 14-19 age group. Miss Earth started in 2001, which channels the beauty pageant entertainment industry as an effective tool to actively promote the preservation of the environment. These contests continue to this day.

Swimsuit competition

The requirement for contestants to wear a swimsuit was a controversial aspect of the various competitions. The controversy was heightened with the increasing popularity of the bikini after its introduction in 1946. The bikini was banned for the Miss America contest in 1947 because of Roman Catholic protesters.When the Miss World contest started in 1951, there was an outcry when the winner was crowned in a bikini. Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning as sinful, and countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. The bikini was banned for future and other contests. It was not until the late 1990s that they became permitted again, but still generated controversy when finals were held in countries where bikinis (or swimsuits in general) were socially disapproved. For example, in 2003, Vida Samadzai from Afghanistan caused an uproar in her native country when she participated in the Miss Earth contest in a bikini. In 2013, the swimsuit round of the Miss World contest was dropped because of Islamist protests in Bali (Indonesia), where the contest took place. In 2014, the Miss World contest eliminated the swimsuit competition from its pageant.

In 2017, Carousel Productions was criticized of objectifying women when the delegates of Miss Earth 2017 walked the first time in the history of international pageants wearing swimsuits during the event but their faces were concealed by a veil in the Beauty of Figure and Form segment of the competition which was first introduced in the Miss Philippines Earth 2017 pageant. It was one of the three preliminary judging segments of the pageant that include Poise and Beauty of Face and Environmental and Intelligence Competition.The organizers defended the “beauty of figure and form” segment and released a statement that the said round was intended to promote strict impartiality during pre-judging by focusing on the contestants’ curves, execution and not beautiful face.

Ref: Wikipedia

Every beauty queen has a story. But how often do we, the public, hear it? After meeting a Pageant Queen for the first time, or after seeing a beauty Queen on stage or on TV, have you ever asked yourself, “Wow, how did her life lead her to pageantry?” Meet the Queens finally provides us opportunity to get to know our beauty queens… behind their crowns! Meet the Queen is Seattle’s freshest, most exciting new media platform, created exclusively to give pageant queens from all walks of life opportunity to share their journey to and through their pageantry careers in a fun, comfortable, chat-show environment. Thus, giving their adoring public exclusive opportunity to support their past and present beauty queens’ personal and professional endeavors.

Contestants walk across the stage at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)