Questioned by us, Darline Devos, director of the Miss Belgium Committee, has a clear opinion on the question. According to her, the age of a candidate for Miss Belgium must not exceed 27 years, the maximum age required to enter the Belgian competition. Especially since to participate in Miss World, she must not be over 25 years old. “We cannot mix 18 year old and 35 year old candidates. There is too much imbalance. What made the difference in the Miss France competition was Miss Martinique’s speech. And, that’s normal. She has experienced a lot more in her life, she is perhaps more accustomed to exercise, she has knowledge and a personality that others perhaps have less. It’s not the same fight. We must let the girls fight on the same level“, she declares before explaining why mothers cannot enter the Miss Belgium competition either. “I have a real problem with women who participate even though they have children. Being Miss requires investment. We must invest our all during the competition but also during the year for the winner. Then, if she competes at Miss World or Miss Universe, there is also a lot of travel. For a mother, the priority must be her child.“
The director of the Miss Belgium Committee also highlights the word “Miss”: “For me, the definition of a miss is a young girl, who is not married and who has no children. It would therefore be necessary to have two categories of competition: Miss and Mrs for the oldest.“
No more crown in the Netherlands
After 35 years of existence, the Netherlands have decided to no longer renew their national Miss competition. In a press release, the organizers revealed the reason for this stop. “Times have changed and we move with the times,” they wrote. Instead, a new platform to reinvent beauty pageants was launched. The idea: to shine more light on inspiring women than on physical beauty. “No more crowns, but stories that inspire. Not dresses, but dreams that come to life.”
Miss competition: what if we took an example from the Netherlands to avoid any controversy?
Unlike the election of Miss Netherlands, the election of Miss Belgium would still have “beautiful years ahead of her“, reacts Darline Devos. “In the Netherlands, the Miss pageant does not have much impact. The Dutch are not very “Miss” like us. The culture of the Netherlands is not the same as in Belgium or France. When a girl becomes Miss Belgium, she is part of the Committee for a year and she adds a lot of things to it. She flourishes there. She becomes a personality because she participates, for example, in television programs. In the beginning, they may be participating for the sash and crown but in the end, it is to become a strong woman. The girls always say that they have much more self-confidence after participating in the election”she begins before adding that judging a Miss on her physical appearance is more than fashionable. And for good reason, “girls today take a lot of photos on social networks, especially in bikinis, to get as many likes as possible“.
Towards a return to television?
If the election of Miss France is still one of TF1’s sure values, in Belgium, the competition has fallen by the wayside on linear channels. This was broadcast on RTL-tvi until 2011 and, from 2013 to 2019 on AB3. However, a return to linear television cannot be ruled out. And this already for next year. “We are in discussions with several Flemish channels to broadcast the competition again. If we find an agreement, RTL-tvi will certainly be willing to broadcast the competition as well. Especially since there was an increase in registrations in Wallonia this year“, explains Darline Devos.
Here is the new Miss Belgium 2024
The annoying question, however, remains that of financial means. “Doing a show like Miss Belgium is expensive for only 2.5 hours of TV. With this budget, the channels can buy ten other programs and fill their schedules“, explains the director, specifying that the Miss Belgium ceremony still requires fewer resources than that of our French neighbors. “Miss France is very expensive. Much more than double that of Miss Belgium. It’s not comparable.“
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