Miss World pageant nixes swimsuit round from competition

Saying that the Miss World pageant should be focused more on "outreach, and what a woman could do with a title like Miss World," the organization announced that future pageants will not include a swimsuit round.

"It isn't the path they're trying to take," Chris Wilmer, the national director of Miss World America, told ABC News. "It's not just a beauty contest, it's 'beauty with a purpose.' There didn't seem to be a purpose to have the swimsuit."

The pageant plans to replace the bikini round with a "beachwear round," instead, which Wilmer described as "more of a fashion competition." The 64th Miss World pageant was held on Dec. 14 in London, so it now marks the final competition that included swimsuits.

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