In 1993 Lebanon's top public prosecutor announced his intention to try Ghada Turk (Miss Lebanon) for "collaborating with the enemy." This followed the publication of photographs of her and Tamara Porat (Miss Israel) standing shoulder-to-shoulder smiling. Shaken, Ghada claimed that she was unaware she was standing next to a political enemy when the picture was taken.

Three years later, the contest was held in the southern Indian City of Bangalore. Militant feminist groups threatened to halt the pageant, claiming that it flaunts women as sexual objects.

In the run-up to the big event, the city's schools were closed amid fears of violence. Bangalore became a city under siege as 20,000-armed policemen were drafted in. Security around the 20,000 seat Chinnaswamy stadium, the final's venue, was especially tight. Some 2,000 policemen arrived equipped with fire extinguishers to deal with protesters who had threatened to set fire to themselves.

Nevertheless, the 1996 final went on to be a huge success. Irene Skliva won the title to become the first Greek Miss World.

By 1999 the contest was back in London and a massive television audience of 2.5 billion witnessed India's Yukta Mookhey receive the Miss World crown.

A few protesters turned up to throw flour bombs, but it merely prompted Eric Morley to quip, "It's like the good old days. Who would have thought it would go on for half a century?" Indeed.