Global Beauties' Miss World 2017 Telecast Review
The 67th edition of Miss World concluded on November 18th at the Sanya City Arena with the crowning of Manushi Chhillar from India as the 2017 title holder. Global Beauties' Andre Sleigh was there and over the coming days he will share his experiences about what happened behind the scenes during his time at the competition. First up, though, is his review of the telecast:
SIGNS OF REJUVENATION -
YET FACING AN IDENTITY CRISIS
If you compare the most recent edition of Miss World to the last three (perhaps four), one thing is very clear: this year the sponsors invested heavily into the show and it was quite evident that the money was there to improve the general quality of the show. Being there and witnessing it all in person was a whole different experience, which I will get to in my next article, but what was it like for the television viewers? For the purpose of this article, I will try to remain as objective and critical as possible and look at the telecast through the eyes of a television viewer only.
And I will begin with the Pre-Show:
This year, I absolutely LOVED the pre-show. If I am completely honest, it was probably my favorite (or definitely top 3) parts of the show. First, I do have to say that Frankie Cena impressed me this time around. Thanks to being part of the Miss World family for a while now, he has definitely grown and I do feel that his love and passion for this competition shines through. I think he is ready to host the main show. Barney Walsh, whose mom Donna is the choreographer of the show, is only 19 years old and did well for someone of his age. I am going to say that he is still relatively "raw" as a host but he definitely shows great promise. He was great in the VTs (video inserts) but looked quite stiff and nervous when the show started at first, but then he found his feet.
The introductions were better than last year, which was already a huge improvement. This year, they felt more sleek and modern. It was great to hear the girls and see (and hear) them show their personalities. Miss World Organisation, in this part of the show, you exceeded yourselves, and you are definitely on the right track.
We (at GB) are also delighted that Dances of the World was brought back and splitting the girls into four regions this year was a marvelous idea as it gave more girls a chance to shine. The stage looked amazing during these segments. Also, the lighting, graphics and camera work were all on point. The choreography was excellent and the girls performed extremely well. It was an exhilarating visual experience and the music chosen for these segments added to that.
I loved the cultural diversity of the Oceania/Asian and European groups. It highlighted the rich history and culture of these regions perfectly. As I am South African, the African group was a thrill to watch. I was so proud of them and this group reflected love for music, dance, drum beats and the energy of the African people. The Americas and Caribbean also brought energy, excitement, fun and also a bit of island spirit. Well done to all the ladies the Miss World Organisation for a doing a superb job with this part of the show.
Miss World has often been criticised for their VT's (inserts). No one wants to watch insert after insert but I did feel that this year they were shorter and far more entertaining as they highlighted the experiences the girls had during their time in China. I was disappointed with the official coverage during the month the girls were in Sanya, so it was nice to see what they got up to. The VTs felt shorter, which means the team is starting to understand what the public wants. It's hard to keep viewers' attention for more than 2 minutes in this day and age.
Overall, I loved the fast and exciting pace of the pre-show and here comes my biggest gripe with it all - why is this amazing part of the competition not included in the main show. I honestly loved it and it makes me sad to think that most television channels probably did not pick the pre-show up, so most viewers probably missed the best part of the telecast.
I will get back to the following point later on but it would have been nice to see some scores during the introductions (or perhaps the leaderboard should come back). The reason for this is that I found the top 40 announcement to be a huge let-down. My suggestion to the Miss World Organization would be: If you have time issues, you could have at least had "Head to Head Challenge Winner" or "Fast Track Winner" flash on the screen when those girls' introductions were shown. This would have been a smart touch as the news was out by that time already!
Overall, I think this part of the competition was a strong start and it showed me that the organization is doing their best to rejuvenate the telecast by making it a bit younger and fresher. Well done, MWO!
Photos courtesy of Miss World Organisation