I’d grown up going to South Africa House and protesting there in the anti-apartheid pickets, when Mandela was still in prison and I was a kid. But despite an emphasis on personality and actions over looks, and the fact that the contest is broadcast in 180 countries to audiences of hundreds of millions, it's not been shown on mainstream British TV since 2001. For their efforts, the protesters were each fined the equivalent today of around £1,500, and many spent a night in police cells. HB:  No, and the thing about that is it’s not really a consequence of a beauty contest, but apartheid South Africa. Results. Eurovision Song Contest (BBC) 4. Yes, exactly. The year before, feminists in the U.S. burned their bras in protest at the annual Miss America contest. And I thought, “What was it like for her being stuck in the middle as a pawn in this?” Jansen is incredibly articulate and could tell us a bit about how that felt at the time and give a personal story of how things were in those times for her. Thanks! Why did the women protest against the Miss World contest? Here we take a look through the 1970s at those who competed for the crown. 52 girls from across the UK competed for the prestigious title. HB:  I think that’s why I like making these kinds of documentaries because I can see both sides to it. 'That was about female camaraderie and the power of doing something small which has a ripple effect and becomes huge,' she says. Miss United Kingdom is a title held by the highest-ranked contestant from the UK in the Miss World pageant. Now I wasn't born in the 70's because I'm only 14 years old, but I did learn about the 70's in middle school and I'm learning about the 70's now in high school and online. It didn’t materially change her life because after her year as Miss Africa South, she just went back to being somebody who was living in a township and now didn’t have the machinist’s job she’d had because she’d given it up and people thought she was rich now. And some of them were maybe just advanced by things like Jennifer being this cool customer who could go forward and take this opportunity in this tumultuous year to become Miss World, to be someone who could actually take that role and do something with it [eventually becoming a diplomat]. Documentaries like this are good, because life is messy. I think they just wanted to know that somebody would listen to the kinds of reasons why they were protesting there that night, and to include that in the documentary. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The documentary shows a tension between incremental change and direct action. Miss Great Britain (1945-c1990) was one of several beauty contests introduced in seaside resorts around the countryIn the years after World War Two. Vicky Lynn Chesser—South Carolina 3. The feminists who flour bombed the 1970 Miss World pageant Fifty years on from the night demonstrators brought Britain’s Women’s Liberation Movement worldwide … January 22: Boeing 747 makes its first commercial passenger trip to London. 1. Peggy Woodward, RDN Updated: Aug. 01, 2019. If there was a moment when second-wave feminism gatecrashed the public consciousness in the UK, it was surely on the evening of 20 November 1970. Made in the 70s The Engine Room. She well puts the point across, as Jennifer does, that for them there’s nothing wrong with beauty contests, with using your looks and your intelligence, and I think that’s a thorny issue for people. But another distinctive feature of that age was the growing tide of political protest. There had been rumblings in the papers, but this was a big moment. To me, the 70's was a happier decade to live in. You can tell by the fact that first Women’s Liberation Movement march, which happened in March 1971, was much better attended than they expected. Coronation Street (ITV) 6. My first thought covers everything.'. I think we’ll always value beauty, but will we always value beauty more in women than in men? This was an era in which it was still perfectly acceptable for Eric Morley to declare that he was looking for 'girls aged between 17 and 25, with good teeth, plenty of hair and perfectly shaped legs' to take part, while the job of assessing the girls' vital statistics as they paraded in swimsuits and high heels fell to a panel of nine judges, including Joan Collins and country and western singer Glen Campbell. The runner-up was Miss United Kingdom, and third, Miss Jamaica. Strictly shocking: the dances that shook the world. The National Final of Miss Great Britain 2018 took place on Friday 14th September at the Athena in Leicester. The story of the 1970 Miss World contest, when protestors dramatically disrupted the event, kickstarting … The contest often attracts celebrity judges at local and national finals. In this day and age, a time where people are interested again in direct action and what you can achieve, it seems to be instructive to go back to 1970 and look at what those struggles achieved – and how change happens. Second was the black South African contestant, and first was Miss Grenada (100-1). Thank you for subscribing to HistoryExtra, you now have unlimited access. All in all, it was about as controversial as a beauty pageant could get, and now, almost 50 years later, the full story is to be told in a new film, Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley. Sally Alexander remembers Hope looking 'absolutely horrified, absolutely terrified'. It. Alamy. She was crowned by Miss World 1969, Eva Rueber-Staier of Austria. What I think he’s hinting at there is these feelings – that Miss World was representing this imperialistic, Eurocentric view of the world – were preying on people’s minds as they voted. I think they just wanted to know that somebody would listen to the kinds of reasons why they were protesting there that night, and to include that in the documentary. Alongside those floury missiles, the demonstrators were armed with nothing more deadly than rotten fruit and veg, smoke-bombs and water-pistols filled with ink. 'It is quite a cattle market here tonight,' he said. Everything you ever wanted to know about... Assassinations: from the ancient world to JFK, 10 April Fools pranks through history that went wrong. This so enraged Sarah Wilson that she delved into her handbag and began twirling her football rattle far earlier than planned. 1970: Deborah Shelton—Virginia 2. That particular Miss World final — the 20th in the pageant's history — was the highest-rated British TV programme of the year and watched by more than 22 million people on BBC1. All across the hall, protesters began unfurling banners and hurling their missiles at the stage. Wages. 2. 'And the girls were getting a bit defiant, so 'We shall overcome' was being sung on both sides of the glass.'. Third was the bookies’ second favourite (9-1), Miss Sweden. Running towards the front of the stalls, Sally attempted to climb up on to the stage but was intercepted by police. Hope wasn’t used to facing anybody that didn’t think he was great. The favourite (8-1), Miss UK, was nowhere. Sarah was one of a group of 'Women's Libbers' who were about to launch an infamous protest at the Miss World final on that November night in 1970. From Danish Rings and Swanson TV dinners to Nintendo Cereal and Hubba Bubba Gum, revisit these childhood classics. Eventually, the protesters were either chased or removed from the auditorium and, incredibly, the ceremony resumed. s really hard to know. There seems to be a problem, please try again. As the audience began arriving at the Royal Albert Hall, glamorous in their dinner jackets and evening gowns, crowds of Women's Libbers demonstrated outside the hall with banners declaring that 'Women Are People Too'. The winner sometimes competes at Miss Internationalthe following year under the Britain or United Kingdom banner. You can tell by the fact that first Women’s Liberation Movement march, which happened in March 1971, was much better attended than they expected. It was the first time a black woman would be crowned Miss World and … February 19, 2017. We went in with our handbags, looking good.'. Hope wasn’t used to facing anybody that didn’t think he was great. 30 Meals We Miss from Our ’70s Dinner Table. The 7-1 favourite was Miss Sweden, so there was booing when it was announced that Jennifer Hosten, 23, an air hostess from the Caribbean island of Grenada, had become the first black Miss World. January 16: Muammar Gaddafi takes over rule of Libya. The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed, Try 3 issues of BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed for only £5, In November 1970, activists disrupted the Miss World beauty pageant by throwing flour bombs and rotten fruit at co-host Bob Hope. I found that hugely impressive. The protest was a catalyst for more people to be aware of the cause and to get behind it. In the summer of 1970, the Women's Liberation Movement was established in Britain and some decided they wanted to emulate the headline-grabbing success of the American protest. Does anyone miss the 1970's? Our memory banks are filled with the tastes, smells and packaging of snacks, quick meals, cereals and drinks of decades gone by. 10 things I miss from the 1970s. I think it’s important that lots of struggles were advanced at that moment in time. But Julia Morley, formidable wife of the contest's organiser, Eric, had other ideas: the show would go on. Great music in the early 70’s. She’s an impressive person. 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It didn’t materially change her life because after her year as Miss Africa South, she just went back to being somebody who was living in a township and now didn’t have the machinist’s job she’d had because she’d given it up and people thought she was rich now. Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. From Blackpool. Director Hannah Berryman tells us about the documentary and about an evening that’s also the subject of a new comedy-drama, Misbehaviour, in cinemas now. Fifty beautiful girls from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete for the coveted title of Miss United Kingdom and a first prize of £3,000. As to who did ultimately 'overcome', well, the Miss World competition is still in rude health with the 68th final in China next month. Legendary comedian Bob Hope was halfway through a joke on stage at the Royal Albert Hall when a strange clacking sound reverberated from somewhere in the plush darkness of the vast auditorium. It carried 332 passengers and 18 crew members. One of those present at a meeting in London to form a plan was Sally Alexander, then a 27-year-old mature history student. Yet, as a BBC Two documentary, Director Hannah Berryman tells us about the documentary and about an evening that. There had been rumblings in the papers, but this was a big moment. 1 / 30. Inside, the 50 or so campaigners who had bought tickets were taking their seats. How much of this can be attributed to what Sally Alexander described as 'one of the most spectacular consciousness-raising episodes' of its time is hard to determine. But, for those of us who grew up in the '70s, it was the sweetest time to be alive, an innocent era where disco reigned supreme and we all had haircuts that made us look like Chia Pets. Thanks to Julia Morley, now 79, who took over the Miss World Organisation following her husband's death in 2000, there's no mention of vital statistics. It just seems all rather awful. As dozens of flour bombs began dropping onto the stage, a bewildered Bob Hope tried to flee to the wings. Sep 8, 2016. 1970: 1. David Leafe for the Daily Mail Introduced by David Vine and Terry Wogan. ‘Royal Family’: the fly-on-the-wall documentary the Palace doesn’t want you to see, Notes on a scandal: revisiting the Profumo Affair. Since the judging panel included Eric Gairy, Grenada's prime minister, there were claims that the result had been fixed. January 23:The US performs a nuclear test at a Nevada Test Site. 20:58 GMT 06 Nov 2018. Protests Against the Miss World Contest, 1970. And some of them were maybe just advanced by things like Jennifer being this cool customer who could go forward and take this opportunity in this tumultuous year to become Miss World, to be someone who could actually take that role and do something with it [eventually becoming a diplomat].