R’Bonney Gabriel
Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State R
- The Miss Universe Organisation is doing away with age limits for its 2024 season.
- The pageant has already been opened to married, divorced and pregnant women and mothers.
- Miss Universe 2023 takes place November in El Salvador.
After allowing married, divorced and pregnant women and mothers to participate in its pageant for the first time this year, the Miss Universe Organisation has announced another move to include more women for its 2024 season.
This week, the organisation announced it was doing away with all age limits across its organisation and associated pageants from next year. The announcement was made as reigning titleholder R’Bonney Gabriel walked as a surprise model in fashion label Tanner Fletcher’s New York Fashion Week show for a collection named Beauty Pageant.
The show featured models of all ages, reminding the audience that women and beauty are not defined by age.
“She (Gabriel) was our muse in making this decision, but it’s been a long time coming. As women, we all understand that youth is not and has never been a requirement for beauty, and there’s no reason why it should be a requirement for Miss Universe,” Amy Emmerich, Miss Universe Organisation CEO, said.
The change, applicable for all 2024 pageants globally, states that every adult woman in the world will be eligible to compete to be Miss Universe. However, they must be at least 18 to participate.
“For years, we’ve had requests from fans and partners all over the world, reminding us that there is not a place for this restriction in an inclusive organisation like ours. We agree and look forward to this next chapter of the Miss Universe legacy,” president Paula Shugart said.
Gabriel said she is “glad” that the permanent change will be etched into her legacy as a titleholder.
“As the oldest titleholder to date, I was very close to ageing out of the competition myself, and I wanted my legacy here to be a shift in how we think about beauty and age going forward. I’m so glad to see that this will be a permanent change for my Miss Universe sisters,” she said.
The Miss Universe pageant takes place on 18 November in El Salvador.
