The controversial bikini ban at the Miss World beauty pageant

Since the September contest is being hosted by Muslim-majority Indonesia, the contestants will sport more modest beachwear than usual

The 2007 Miss World contestants dance in their swimsuits.
(Image credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)

The organizers of the Miss World pageant, scheduled for September in Indonesia, cast aside tradition this week, and announced that bikinis would be banned in the swimwear competition. For the first time, contestants will be required to don one-pieces and even sarongs, traditional beachwear on the resort island of Bali, where the competition will be held. The Miss World pageant began in 1951 as a bikini show for the Festival of Britain — so why the sudden modesty?

Julia Morley, the chairwoman of the Miss World Organization, says the decision was made so as not to be "disrespectful" to Indonesia, which is the world's biggest Muslim-majority country. Morley's trepidation likely came after the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country's top Muslim clerical body, called for canceling the pageant, saying it promotes "hedonism, materialism, and consumerism," and is nothing but "an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.