BEIJING: A bevy of 120 beauties from around the globe will don their most alluring evening gowns Saturday for the Miss World pageant in the Chinese resort town of Sanya. After a month-long tour of China, from visiting the striking Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing to shopping in Shanghai, contestants have now invaded Hainan island's pristine beaches for the early mini-contests and the main event. The competition, which was first held in 1951 and is being staged in Sanya for the fifth time in eight years, annually rakes in a global television audience of about a billion viewers. “Miss World has a special relationship with Sanya and there is no better place to begin our 60th year celebrations,” the pageant's co-chairwoman Julia Morley said on the official website. – Agence France
