Miss Morocco Contest is the oldest beauty contest in Morocco that continues even today, as the main celebration to watch people through the broadcast of television in about 10 countries around the world. The contest was broadcast on television for the first time in 1959. And the percentage of viewers peaked in the nineties when it became watched by nearly half a billion people around the world. The competition qualifies for the Miss Universe election but still unknown when the country return to upcoming Miss Universe pageant. The first known Miss Maroc representing the newly independent nation of Morocco in 1956 was Lydia Marin who competed in Miss World the same year. Night Star Maroc is currently the owner of the "Miss Maroc" trademark. In 1953, nine women were selected to represent Morocco at Miss Universe, an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the American based Miss Universe Organization. Between 1950s and 1970s, Morocco sent delegates to major international pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International pageants.
International competitions
In the 50s, Morocco had its own beauty contest. The competition known as Miss Maroc allowed several Moroccan beauties to compete for international beauty pageants. Five months after Morocco broke free from the French, Lydia Marin was the first Miss Morocco to represent the North African Kingdom in Miss World, the oldest running international beauty pageant. Miss World’s archives list Lidya Marin as the first woman to compete under the name of Morocco next to several other ladies in 1956. The international competition, created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951, was held on 15 October at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. Jacqueline Dorella Bonilla, named Miss Morocco in 1957, was one of the most famous Moroccan competitors to ever make it to the American beauty contest. Indeed, Jacqueline ended as one of the top 15 semifinalists in the competition. On the internet, an old video of the competition shows Jacqueline presenting herself in front of the Miss Universe jury in Long Beach, California. Speaking in French, Jacqueline started her speech by inviting people who have never been to Morocco to visit the country. Miss International was also one of the biggest beauty competitions that saw the participation of Moroccan women. Raymonde Valle was one of the first Moroccan beauties to represent the country in the Tokyo-based contest. It was in 1960 that Raymonde was selected to compete for the title. However, a weird yet funny anecdote marked her participation. According to Oocities, the young woman was quite embarrassed during the parade organized by Miss International.
