History

Miss International began in 1960 in Long Beach, California, where it was staged until 1967, before moving to Japan from 1968-1970 to commemorate the Osaka World Expo (the 1968 Pageant was held at the Nippon Budokan, with the "Ginza Parade" from Hibiya Park to Nihonbashi received to great acclaim). This led to it being staged in Japan every year from 1972 onward. What is more, Miss International contestants have appeared at every international expo held in Japan so far, lending glamour to the venue.

In the year 2011, the Beauty Pageant took place in Chengdu, China as the pre-event for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 ranks as the core event of international goodwill activities in China, which is enjoying spectacular economic growth.

Under the slogans of "achieving world peace through mutual understanding" and "proper understanding of Japan in a globalized society," the Miss International Beauty Pageant has grown into a quasi-national event, so that it is now known as the "Olympics of Beauty." The aim of this "Beauty Festival" is for each delegate to compete not on external beauty alone, but as popular-level diplomats who proactively carry out international exchange activities such as exchange with the regional community and the Miss International Forum, as well as social contribution activities such as charity events and ecology campaigns.

By a strange twist of fate, this year's Pageant too will be held in Sichuan Province, China, which last year experienced the greatest natural disaster on record, and saw coming together of "Goodwill Ambassadors of Beauty" representing around 60 countries and regions with an abundant spirit of goodwill. This year too, a new history of the Miss International Beauty Pageant will be carved out by the delegates abounding in goodwill and energy.