Miss World 2011: Backstage Videos and Contestant Photos

Miss World 2011 has returned to its birthplace of London, where beauty and talent will be crowned on Sunday on the 60th anniversary of the competition.

Featuring beauty queens from 122 counties, the pageant will be broadcast to a billion viewers worldwide during Sunday's final. The finalists have already featured in five competitions including beach beauty, top model, talent, sports and beauty with a purpose.

Today, in 2011, we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Miss World Pageant. According to Chinese tradition, 60 years makes a complete circle of life. Here, I am proud to claim a stand in the half-century glory. My Miss World journey is the best experience I have ever had, making my life richer and fuller. I believe that I will always be a member of the Miss World family, and I hope that I can join effort with all my friends, now and ever, to build a better festival for women all around the world, said 2007 Miss World winner Zilin Zhang.

Competition has been so high this year that initially 36 contestants qualified in the ' beach beauty' competition that took place in London's Earl's Court. The judges later struggled to narrow the number down to 20 qualifiers which included: Bolivia, Brazil, England, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, New Zealand, Paraguay, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, Serbia, Spain, St Barthelemy, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Another large portion if the competition is the Beauty with a Purpose competition where contestants present humanitarian projects that raise awareness and funds for charities around the world. There were 20 presentations that made it to the final. These were from: Barbados, Botswana, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Malaysia, Nepal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, US Virgin Islands, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Bahamas, Bonaire, England, India, Malta, Namibia, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Thailand.

For the first time in Miss World's history, backstage events are being shared with the public through the competition's YouTube channel, which shows rehearsals, semifinals, sightseeing with the contestants, judging interviews.

Prior to the competition's finale, the contenders went on a grand tour of the United Kingdom visiting the Gleneagles golf course in Scotland, Stirling and Edinburgh Castle, University of Cambridge, Greenwich, the Tower of London and the London eye.

On Monday the Miss World 2011 contestants participated in a charity dinner at London's Hilton Park Lane Hotel, where they presented their charitable projects and brought traditional gifts from their respective countries. The total amount raised for Beauty with a Purpose at the Miss World Charity Dinner reached £100,000.

Eric Morley's started Miss World in London in 1951 as a part of the festival of Britain celebrations. The competition was a hit from the start welcoming a global audience greater than that of the World Cup. It has since become one of the most prestigious and anticipated beauty pageants in the world. Start the slideshow to look at this years beach beauty qualifiers.

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