The 67th Miss USA pageant is set to take place on May, 21 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. The event will be hosted by Vannessa and Nick Lachey. Last years winner Kara McCullough of the District of Columbia will be on hand to crown her successor. Currently, FOX holds the broadcasting rights.
The venue marks the 20th year anniversary of the events first appearance in Shreveport, Louisiana. All 50 states and the District of Columbia will be represented. The pageant is a two-hour special trotting out the hottest women each state has to offer. And, judging by the above pictures, we will all be in for a treat with the smokeshows this year’s competition has supplied.
The contest includes an interview portion, gown attire portion, and a swimsuit portion. The pageant will air live on FOX at 8 PM EST. The Miss USA winner will then go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.
President Donald Trump ran the pageant from 1996-2015, during which time NBC broadcasted the event. Eventually, WME/IMG purchased the pageant from Trump in September 2015. The first Miss USA pageant was held in 1950 with Yolande Betbeze being crowned the winner. The the first competition unsurprisingly was shrouded in controversy as the winner refused to pose publicly for pictures in her bikini. The first concurrent Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants were held in 1952. Initially, not all states sent a representative. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that all states participated in the event. Since the inception of the event, the crowned Miss USA winner has gone on to win eight times at the Miss Universe pageant.
The Miss USA winner signs a one-year contract to do promotional work around the country and often times overseas. The winner advocates about control of diseases, peace, and public awareness of AIDS. Other major benefits of winning the competition include a cash allowance, a New York Film Academy scholarship, a modeling portfolio, beauty products, clothes, shoes, as well as styling, healthcare, and fitness services by different sponsors of the pageant.