Miss Europe is a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

for women from all over Europe. It was established in February 1927 by , the European distributor of

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, as a one-off event where the winner was to star in a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. After the initial twelve-person jury couldn't decide between 10 contestants, a runoff election was held where Murnau chose the winner. Murnau ended up choosing Štefica Vidačić of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

as the winner and the first ever Miss Europe. Miss Europe was later re-established in December 1928 by French journalist Maurice de Waleffe (1874–1946), who also created, in 1920, what by 1927 had become the

Miss France Miss France is a national beauty pageant in France held annually in December. The competition was first held in 1920, and has been organized continuously since 1947. The trademark for the pageant is owned by the company Miss France SAS, and is ...

pageant. Miss Europe, under de Waleffe, was first held at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

with participants from 18 countries. The first contest under de Waleffe did not occur until February 1929. The contest was interrupted by the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but was later re-established, after de Waleffe died, by Roger Zeiler and Claude Berr who founded the Mondial Events Organization (MEO). Most contestants won their respective national contests for

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

, and participated as supplemental training for their respective competitions. Berr died in 1981 and in 2003, Roger Zeiler sold the license for the pageant to Endemol France, part of the Dutch television production company

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

. In 2007 to 2009, the competition was announced to be held in various location such as

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

but it did not happen as they had to stop the contest after 2006 due to internal problems with the organizations. In 2016, the pageant was "revived" by the newly formed ''Miss Europe Organization'' originally headquartered in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

but then later moved to

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Apparently there is a connection with the previous organizers as the winner of the 2016 edition wore the same crown (tiara/diadem) as her predecessors, thus making this Miss Europe pageant the ''de facto'' successor to the main one.

Official editions and titleholders

Winners by countries and territories

Gallery

File:Štefica Vidačić 1927.jpg, Miss Europe 1927, Štefica Vidačić File:Simon Böske Miss Hungary és Miss Europe.png, Miss Europe 1929, Erzsébet "Böske" Simon File:Aliki.jpg, Miss Europe 1930, Aliki Diplarakou File:Jeanne Juilla 1931.jpg, Miss Europe 1931,

Jeanne Juilla Jeanne Marie Justine Juilla (; 21 August 1910 – 4 September 1996) was a French model and actress, who became the seventh Miss France and the first Frenchwoman to earn the Miss Europe title. Life Juilla was born on 21 August 1910 in Villene ...

File:Miss Europe and Denmark 1932 Aase Clausen.jpg, Miss Europe 1932, Åse Clausen File:В 1933 году титул «Мисс Россия» завоевала Татьяна Маслова..jpg, Miss USSR, Tatyana Maslova 1933; Miss Europe 1933 File:Ester-Toivonen.jpg, Miss Europe 1934, Ester Toivonen File:Britta-Wikstrom.jpg, Miss Europe 1937, Britta Wikström File:Sirkka Salonen.jpg, Miss Europe 1938, Sirkka Salonen File:Jacqueline Donny et Audrey Smith dans Cinévie du 9 mars 1948 (cropped).png, Miss Europe 1948, Jacqueline Donny File:Juliette Figueras.jpg, Miss Europe 1949, Juliette Figueras File:Eloisa Cianni.JPG, Miss Europe 1953,

Eloisa Cianni Eloisa Cianni (23 June 1932 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian actress, model and beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, bea ...

File:Inga-Britt Söderberg, Miss Suomi 1955.jpg, Miss Europe 1955, Inga-Britt Söderberg File:Corine Rottschäfer (miss World 1959).jpg, Miss Europe 1957, Corine Rottschäfer File:Elly Koot (1964).jpg, Miss Europe 1964,

Elly Koot Elly Tibina Koot Brandt (born 1943) is a Dutch model who won the Miss Europe 1964, 1964 Miss Europe contest in Beirut, Lebanon. She was born in Rotterdam, where her mother was visiting family, but grew up in Amsterdam on the Singel near the Bloe ...

File:Saša Zajc 1969.jpg, Miss Europe 1969, Saša Zajc File:Riitta Väisänen ja suomenhevonen Vihreillä Niityillä 2007.jpg, Miss Europe 1976, Riitta Väisänen (pictured in 2007) File:Elodie Gossuin Cannes.jpg, Miss Europe 2001, Elodie Gossuin File:Королёва Светлана Юрьевна.JPG, Miss Europe 2002, Svetlana Koroleva File:AV0A1388 Shermine Shahrivar.jpg, Miss Europe 2005, Shermine Shahrivar File:Miss europe by JM Rosier.jpg, Miss Europe 2006, Alexandra Rosenfeld File:Miss Europe 2016.jpg, Miss Europe 2016, Diana Starkova

"Comité Officiel et International Miss Europe" competition

From 1951 to 2002 there was a rival Miss Europe competition organized by the "Comité Officiel et International Miss Europe". This was founded in 1950 by Jean Raibaut in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the headquarters later moved to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. The winners wore different titles like Miss Europe, Miss Europa or Miss Europe International.

Winners by countries and territories

Miss European Global

Miss European Global is a beauty pageant in which each country has a team of six girls and one girl from each team competes for Miss European Global.
Miss European Global.
on Facebook

Winners by countries and territories

Mrs. Europe

Delegates from all over Europe gather to compete for the prestigious title of Mrs. Europe in the largest beauty competition on the old continent! In modern times women are philanthropists, entrepreneurs and social activists, mothers, sisters and daughters which every day must deal with the responsibilities of being the Mrs. Europe we are looking for. Europe is the continent from which art, culture and democracy began and it deserves a worthy ambassador, to serve as an example for all citizens, and empower women. Delegates will have to prepare a report, compete in different categories every day and work together to overcome the challenges they will face during this glamorous international competition *
MRS. Europe
on Facebook,

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe

Winners by countries and territories

Miss, Mrs., Miss Teen Europe Global

The Miss Europe Global and Mrs. Europe Global is an annual pageant designed without any ethnicity requirements. It encourages and empowers the women of today. Providing each Delegate many opportunities in personal and professional growths, self-expression and development – through stage presence, public speaking networking and many opportunities in modeling and acting. We recognize women's strengths and accomplishments. With integrity, strong moral values, and promoting intelligent women of today Miss Europe Global and Mrs. Europe Global provides unique opportunities for all women to achieve their goals, dreams, and desires.
Mrs Europe Global
on Facebook
Miss Europe Global
on Facebook,

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe (Austria-based)

Winners by countries and territories

Miss European Union

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe Continental

Miss Europe Continental is an international beauty contest born with the aim to enhance the feminine charm and the cultures of the different countries participating in the competition. Based on the latest trends in fashion and cinema, this contest underlines the female beauty and with great pride the faces, bodies and relevant charm of the contestants. The International Competition, with its network of agents, organizes selections every month throughout Europe.
Miss Europe Continental
on Facebook, Miss Europ
Continental
on Instagram

Winners by countries and territories

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Europe, Miss * Recurring events established in 1928 1928 establishments in Europe Beauty pageants in Europe International beauty pageants Continental beauty pageants

Official editions and titleholders

Winners by countries and territories

Gallery

"Comité Officiel et International Miss Europe" competition

Winners by countries and territories

Miss European Global

Winners by countries and territories

Mrs. Europe

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe

Winners by countries and territories

Miss, Mrs., Miss Teen Europe Global

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe (Austria-based)

Winners by countries and territories

Miss European Union

Winners by countries and territories

Miss Europe Continental

Winners by countries and territories

See also

References

External links