Will pageants be a thing of the past once this pandemic has ended ? By Ms Diamond South Yorkshire 20

So I actually saw a post from the pageant planet about this topic.

And it really got me thinking about pageants post pandemic forever now known to me as PPP !!

So as you know the U.K. has been in lock down for nearly 3 weeks and most of the world is in the same situation so pageants have unfortunately come to a stand still. Now pageants are not the most important thing in the world right now but for a lot of girls and women that have entered a system there reason for entering is mental health whether they have been bullied, have low self esteem and confidence the list can go on and on so if pageants do become less relevant will it effect these girls and women’s mental health ?

Being a pageant girl isn’t just about getting on stage with fake eyelashes, pretty dresses and high heels, it’s about gaining self confidence, making new friends and doing something that puts you out of your comfort zone. A lot of contestants also use there title whether regional, national or international to raise awareness and funds for there platform as you know mine is cancer awareness and end of life care. So without pageants would these contestants be able to find another outlet to help them ?

Anyway ! Back to my main answer ! So pageants do still have what we call a bad rep to none pageant people. They do just think as it’s was a said earlier, putting on a pretty dress, smiling and saying world peace but in reality we do that (not so much saying world peace though) and so much more.

Now as we know businesses from across the world are struggling but what about our charities ?? They aren’t getting the normal fundraising coming in. For example in previous years I have taken part in a colour dash for Bluebell Wood Hospice who I volunteer for and that one event can help them fundraise over £70k now I’m not saying this is just because of pageants because it’s not ! But did you know that since Beauty with a Purpose was launched by Miss World (a pageant)they have raised over £1 billion to help communities and people from across the world ! just think how many lives that has helped.

So I hope it gives charities and people time to reflect on there opinions when pageants are over and actually see all the good we do from raising awareness to campaigns and charities to raising vital funds for them.

So when the lockdown and pandemic is over let’s get out there with our crowns and sashes get in touch with your charity platform and ask them how you can help? Do they need volunteers ? Do they need help fundraising ? In fact why don’t get in touch with them now ? if you haven’t already done so of course ! You could do an online fundraising event just see what they need help with if your in a position to do so.

Let’s take this opportunity to show what a difference we make and how relevant pageants are because without them we wouldn’t be able to met friends from across the country and the world and give a voice to things that are incredibly important on a larger scale.

Let’s together make sure that pageants don’t become irrelevant because without them charities wouldn’t get a much fundraising (unless you fundraise anyway), girls and women wouldn’t have such an amazing support system to help them through personal issues and plus sales of pretty dresses and earrings would go down and we can’t have that can we !

Finally and this is to you pageant mummy’s out there show your child why your a pageant queen and a good role model so that when they want to compete in the future then pageants are still here and they have the same of not better pageant opportunities that we did PPP !