Not only is it a beauty contest for contestants, beauty pageants also bring huge profits to producers. According to Business Insider, to become the main sponsor of an international beauty pageant, each unit must spend from several hundred thousand USD to tens of millions of USD.
Typically, the Miss Grand International (MGI) contest held in October 2023 attracted more than 15 sponsors. Depending on the amount of money spent, sponsors will be divided into Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Accordingly, the MGI Organizing Committee (BTC) has brought in tens, even hundreds of millions of USD from this source of revenue.
In return, the beauties participating in the contest must take photos, film promotional videos, and even livestream to sell products to pay benefits to the sponsors.
According to ABC News, Miss World and Miss Universe also bring in large amounts of revenue for producers. In 2023, Miss World has 7 sponsors, while Miss Universe 2023 has 9 main sponsors.
Previously, Insider reported that Miss Universe 2020 cooperated with 12 major sponsors, Miss Grand International 2016 had more than 30 businesses and brands printed on the sponsorship banner.
In addition to this amount, some beauty pageants also organize ticket sales to earn additional revenue from the audience. Accordingly, the Miss Universe 2023 Organizing Committee has opened for sale 700 tickets to watch the final at the price of 500 USD/regular ticket, 1,000 USD/VIP ticket and 2,000 USD/platinum ticket.
Not only that, many pageants also charge contestants to vote or sell exclusive content to certain television channels. According to NPR, Miss Universe is broadcast exclusively on Fox television each year, earning a large profit.
In Vietnam, in 2024, the Miss Vietnam National contest has about 16 sponsors, Miss Grand Vietnam 2024 has about 30 sponsors. According to disclosures from industry insiders and sponsorship invitations, the fee that the units pay is about 2-10 billion VND, or even more, depending on the role of Gold, Silver, Bronze or Diamond sponsor.
In addition, ticket prices for the finals of beauty pageants can range from 500,000 VND to 6 million VND, depending on the seat class. SUPERVIP ticket prices at Miss Universe Vietnam 2023 are up to 10 million VND/seat.
After each contest, the organizers continue to profit from the winners. They will sign agreements with the beauty queens and runners-up to share profits from advertising contracts, performance fees or event attendance.
According to Variety, these contracts usually last for 1-2 years. After that, the beauties have the right to change management companies or continue to cooperate with the organizers to build their image and earn money together.
However, during this period alone, the contest organizers have earned a significant amount of money from the increasing value of the beauty queens they themselves created.
