My journey with Miss World NZ

 
The last three years have been incredibly challenging for everyone, not least for those of us involved in entertainment and events. For that reason, we couldn’t proceed with Miss World Aotearoa with any certainty until now. There would have been too many stops and starts.

   However, that has left us in a very exciting position, because the 2023 international final will take place in May, and we will be sending a national titleholder.

   This could be you.

   Even more exciting is the fact that all finalists who enter Miss World Aotearoa 2023, after an initial selection for a titleholder to go to the international competition in May, will go on to compete in our national final in November 2023. There we will select a winner to go to Miss World internationally in 2024.

   This gives all our finalists two chances at the title.

   This has never been done before. But it’s a one-off, as we hope there will never be another global pandemic!

 

How 2023–2024 will work

Once our finalists have been selected (and you can read about that general process further down the page), every contestant will meet the judges virtually and they will make an initial selection. We may then do another round of judges’ interviews. No fewer than the top 3 will come to Auckland for a final in-person interview, and those costs will be met by Miss World NZ.

   Following that, they will select our titleholder for 2023.

   But it’s not over, because all of our other finalists will continue on to our national final in November 2023. The winner from there will represent Aotearoa New Zealand at Miss World internationally in 2024.

   This means you get two chances at the title—but you only pay one entry fee.

General terms

 

To enter this competition you must be female, a New Zealand citizen, live here as your permanent and primary residence, and that you intend to make New Zealand your permanent home for at least six months before the final. (You can have attended college or university elsewhere during part or all of that period.) You must be at least 18 and no more than 26 on December 1, 2023 (that means you were born between December 1, 1997 and December 1, 2005). And, you must not have been married or have given birth to a child.

After reading this page your first step will be to ‘enter for 2023’. Links to enter are above and at the bottom of this page.
   Once the team at Miss World NZ have reviewed your entry we will be in touch with you via email. If you are successful in becoming a finalist, we will inform you of a first-round virtual interview. This is for the May selection. It is vital that the details you supply to us are correct and that you respond to our communication promptly. We do not ‘chase’ contestants.
    Before your interview takes place you will be required to pay a $99 registration fee. This fee is fully refundable in the unlikely event that you are not subsequently offered a place as a finalist. If you are offered a place as a finalist then the amount of $99 will be deducted from your overall entry fee.
   Once all of the interviews have been completed we will announce our finalists publicly.


My journey as a finalist

A key part of the competition commences after the finalists are announced. This is the Entrepreneurial Challenge (EC). All contestants are required to take part in this challenge. The EC is an initiative that we set up in 2013 in order to benefit our chosen charity, and to date, our contestants have raised over $200,000 for deserving children.
   The EC is designed to challenge contestants to think outside the square and to work outside what might be their comfort zone. You are expected to organize an event: this could be a fashion show, quiz night, dinner, auction; there are many options, and we will advise and support you in your efforts. Fifty per cent of the proceeds from the EC go straight to charity, and the remaining 50 per cent to your participation in the competition. It is very important you realize that Miss World Aotearoa 2023 and 2024 is bigger than ever before, and clearly your entry fee does not cover the extraordinary journey that you will experience.
   There is another reason why the EC is important. The contestant or contestants who have the highest totals in the EC receive immunity from elimination during the 2023 Grand Final when the contest moves to the top 10. EC totals are based on funds raised, sponsorship achieved, and tickets sold. The winner of the EC is presented with a sash during the 2023 Grand Final. The EC runs from the day the finalists are announced through to the week of the 2023 Grand Final. It is incredibly important that once you are confirmed as a finalist, you immediately start thinking about and planning your EC event.

 

Sponsorship

Miss World NZ offers a very comprehensive sponsorship proposal, with tiers ranging from Bronze through to Gold. Each finalist has to bring a Bronze sponsor to the 2023 competition. There is though no upper limit to the number of sponsors you bring into the competition, and all of these count toward your EC total.

 
Judging and voting

Public voting carries on through to the end of the first half of the 2023 Grand Final, and is a key part of Miss World Aotearoa, but it will not start until we have selected our initial winner who will be heading overseas in May. Your engagement with the people of Aotearoa New Zealand is crucial to your success. You do this through your use of social media (e.g. Facebook and Instagram), and we will give you guidelines and assistance. Voting is made via our own system, which is called iVote, and this is run by iTicket. This enables voters to purchase votes through voting bundles. The bundles are priced at $5. Each vote costs $1, and for every bundle sold, $1 goes to charity.
   The Top 10 in Miss World Aotearoa 2023 are decided on a 50–50 basis, the public vote representing 50 per cent of that result, and the remaining 50 per cent is governed by our judging panel, which is made up of industry experts. However, there are two exceptions.
   The People's Choice winner, i.e. the finalist who receives the most votes, is guaranteed a place in the Top 10.
   The winner of the EC, as we've mentioned, receives immunity from elimination and automatically gains a place in the Top 10.
   The Top 5 and the final result are chosen by our judges.

 

Finalists’ Retreat and Grand Final Week

All qualifying finalists (those who honour all aspects of their agreement with Miss World NZ) will be invited to attend the Finalists' Retreat in November 2023. You'll need to get yourself to Auckland, which is the MWNZ base, and you will have plenty of notice of the date. We will then cover the transfers to and from the retreat location. There you will spend four days with your fellow finalists. Your accommodation, breakfast every day, all activities, and some evening meals will be paid for.
   Following directly on from the retreat, we will transfer to Auckland, and we will cover your travel costs to Auckland.
   Accommodation from the Tuesday of Grand Final week through to Saturday is your responsibility. All non-Auckland-based finalists will be offered a deal for shared accommodation in the CBD. You will only be sharing with other finalists. The cost of this will be capped at $50 per night per contestant (for five nights).
   Grand Final Week is packed with activities and rehearsals in which all our finalists participate, building up to the big day. You must be available for the entire period.
   The Grand Final date for 2023 has not yet been fixed but it will be confirmed very soon, and will be in November. It will be filmed on multiple cameras and streamed.
   The Grand Final itself is a spectacular show with top entertainers and, of course, all the drama and climax that the biggest and best beauty pageant in New Zealand brings with it.

 
Miss World NZ: the detail

From the time that you put in your registration, you are being judged. You need to pay attention to your activity on social media, making sure that it is in line with the expectations of Miss World NZ.
   Miss World NZ costs tens of thousands of dollars to stage: it is filmed, and it is streamed in high definition right around the globe. Over half a million people have watched the online video content that we, as an organization, have produced in the last decade.
   Miss World NZ is funded through your entry fee, sponsorship, ticket sales, public voting, and a number of other revenue streams. However we realize that the last 3 years have been tough and challenging for everyone and so in an unprecedented move, we are lowering the entry fee to $1,250, the lowest entry fee that a national competition has charged in more than ten years.
   Below we have summarized the total costs that Miss World NZ requires from you. We have also listed nominal values associated with what you will receive. As you can see, Miss World NZ subsidizes your journey to a very significant degree.

 

Your commitment to us
• Entry fee
• Securing a Bronze sponsorship
• Ticket sales: we expect you to sell 15 tickets
• Full participation in the Entrepreneurial Challenge. As a qualifying finalist, you are required to hold an event.
• Travel to Auckland for Finalists’ Orientation weekend and the Retreat

 

Our commitment to you
• Miss World Aotearoa finalist’s T-shirt (value $59)
• Choice of hiring a gown from our extensive stock at $200, includes any alterations and cleaning fee; or the design and provision of a bespoke evening gown, by international designer Sidney Eculla, value $2,500, at a subsidized rate of $500
• Provision of swimwear and some leisurewear, which you get to keep (value $175)
• Provision of jewellery (value $250)
• Finalists’ prize pack (value $150)
• New Zealand Finalists’ Retreat (value $750)

and being part of the biggest and best competition in New Zealand.

 

However, we realize that entering the competition represents a substantial investment in time and money, but we would like to stress that this journey, should you be successful, is likely to be life-changing. You will be making an investment in yourself and your future.

The winners in this entry round of Miss World Aotearoa will compete in Miss World in May 2023 and in 2024. Miss World NZ pays all associated entry and registration costs to the international events. We will assist with the cost of flights to the international finals (up to 50%). We also look after the design and provision of your evening gown and the national costume.

The winner will also receive an international holiday.

We hope this has energized you. There’s only one more thing to do, and that’s to enter now! You can contact us at info@nextmissnz.com, and begin your journey.


Our banking details again are:
Name: The Miss New Zealand Consortium Ltd.
Bank: ASB Bank
Branch: Kilbirnie
Account number: 12-3481-0014385-00

 

 

Copyright ©2013–23 by the Miss New Zealand Consortium Ltd., official licensee of Miss World in New Zealand. All rights reserved. Website created by Jack Yan & Associates. The Miss World name, ‘Beauty with a purpose’, the MW symbol and certain copyrighted images are the property of Miss World, and are used under licence. We may collect anonymized data about you through the use of cookies. JY&A privacy policy applies. Photographed by Csaba Shepherd and Alan Raga.