“It really is ‘Miss World — You Decide’,” the official Miss World website said. Instead of being judges, a celebrity panel this year will “offer opinions on each of the girls taking part” and present the final show, organisers said. Stars taking part include Troy McClain, star of popular American reality TV show The Apprentice, West Indian cricket great Viv Richards and Australian actress Kate Richie.

Organisers signed on again for China after last year’s pageant passed without incident at this city on the palm-dotted resort island of Hainan — in contrast to 2002 when it sparked sectarian violence in Nigeria. The 107 Miss World hopefuls have been warmly greeted by an island whose tourism industry received a much needed boost from last year’s event. The 2003 winner was Irishwoman Rosanna Davison, daughter of “Lady in Red” singer Chris de Burgh. “The welcome extended to Miss World in China has been one of great celebration and happiness,” said veteran organiser Julia Morley.

“The girls ... are overwhelmed by the reaction they have received and it has given them a real boost at a time of competition.” Despite competition from the US-based Miss Universe and the tongue-in-cheek Alternative Miss World pageants, Miss World remains the most popular beauty contest worldwide.

Last year it reached a worldwide television audience of 2.3 billion from 162 countries, putting the show near the ranks of the Olympics’ opening ceremony and football’s World Cup, organisers said. “This year the audience will be even bigger,” Morley predicted, conscious that China has more than a billion people with access to television. The celebrity panel will instead “offer opinions on each of the girls taking part” and present the final show, organisers said.