Blink and you'll Miss World...

While it will be broadcast live to a worldwide audience of one billion tonight, you won't see the celebration of brains and beauty on British TV thanks to whingeing feminists and gutless television executives. More's the pity, writes CAROLE MALONE

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AN EXCITING global event is taking place at in Mumbai tonight at Jio the Convention World Centre, which will be watched by a BILLION people worldwide and televised in 120 countries. But sadly, the UK isn't one of them.

I'm talking about the once-revered Miss World Contest which, back in the 1970s and 80s, was THE biggest event in the UK's TV calendar. More than 18 million people would gather around their visions to watch an array of stunning, swim-suited women strut their beautiful stuff.

But then in 1989 - 38 years after it all began, courtesy of London-born entrepreneur, Eric Morley - the feminist movement took the contest in its bitter, destructive jaws and tore it and everything it stood for to shreds.

The feminists screamed it was "a grotesque celebration of objectification", while others made sneery comments that, just like the Eurovision Song Contest, Miss World was "tacky and smacked of another era".

And so gutless TV bosses, unwilling to put up a fight for it, kicked it to the curb. Today, you won't find it on terrestrial UKTV.

But just like Barbie, Miss World has been reimagined, reborn and rebooted for the 21st century.

Globally, it's STILL a ratings sensation despite the ongoing roars from some feminist organisations who, for some unfathomable reason, seem to hate beautiful women but especially women who, unlike them, have come to the very modern realisation that you CAN have brains and beauty and fully utilise both.

The contest is also a massive hit on social media and has a worldwide reach of more than 600 million followers. And it's clear why.

Because, despite the cries of "exploitation" from the feminist ranks, beautiful women who have careers in medicine, astrophysics and the law see nothing wrong in entering a beauty contest. They don't feel exploited - they feel empowered.