DON'T TRY TO FIX WHAT AIN'T BROKEN

I get really peeved when individuals attempt to justify why there has been a decline in the popularity of pageants by saying that a pageant needs to be relevant and modernised. What a load of bollocks.

The fact of the matter is that the mankind is more concerned with physical appearance than ever before. Even in these tough economic times, very few fashion, fragrance, haircare or cosmetics companies are closing their doors. We'd all rather go hungry than look like crap.

The problem with modern pageants is that the organisers have tried to modernise them to the point where they are no longer recognisable as pageants. People, if we wanted to attend a fashion show, we'd attend a fashion show. When we attend a beauty pageant, we want to see a beauty pageant. Period!

By all means modernise the sets and special effects, and have the contestants wear current fashions, but as I have said before, there is a huge difference between a fashion show and a beauty pageant. A beauty pageant should be about the contestants, and not about the fashions or props.

Let's be honest, the only individuals who really have a lot to say about how irrelevant pageants are, are those who in a million years would never qualify to enter one. When you say pageant hater, I immediately think frumpy, friendless journalist that was never accepted by his or her peers, and is now abusing his or her position as a "voice of the people" by getting back at those who made their lives miserable.

As a pageant follower, I know that pageants are still as popular as they were 30 years ago. There are more pageants now than there ever have been in the past. Every fees, festival, show and exhibition still has a beauty pageant, and the beauty pageant tends to be the most popular event on the schedule.

There are only three reasons why there is the perception that pageants are on the decline:

* The media/press is run by a bunch or raging liberals who have taken it upon themselves to decide that pageants are irrelevant and un-PC;

* There are too many political considerations to be taken into account when choosing a winner at a pageant; and

* We have a greater choice when selecting a television channel that appeals to us, and naturally when comparisons are made with past statistics where we didn't have as varied a choice, the perception is that pageants are less popular.

In any event, I saw a YouTube clip of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest winner, and compared it to past events. The only difference between the 2009 edition and the 1974 edition, for example, is that fashion has changed and the props are more modern and advanced.

Except for a few innovations as far as the voting goes, and the introduction of sms and telephone votes, the format has remained unchanged over the past few decades. The songs are still all cheesy, corny, pop-sy, catchy, sing-a-long, no-nonsense fun, and after all these years, the contest still draws in excess of 100 million viewers in Europe alone.

The moral of the story is "don't try to fix what ain't broken", coz then you'll break it. Just remember that pageant organisers! The crowd from the Eurovision Song Contest have, and the show is as popular as ever.