Big Four beauty pageants

The Big Four or the Big League Pageants^[1] refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women — Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The group was first described by the China Daily newspaper in 2004 as "the world's four major beauty contests".^[7][8] In April 2008, the South China Morning Post described them as "four of the world's top beauty pageants";^[9] the same description was also used by South Korea's leading newspaper, Chosun Ilbo in 2010.^[10] In 2017, the Latin Times considered the group as the "most important pageants in the world".^[11] In 2018, NBC News referred to them as the "four biggest international pageants".^[12] Agencia EFE in 2019 classified them as the "four most influential beauty pageants in the world".^[13][14][15]

Among the hundreds of thousands of beauty contests held annually,^[16] the Big Four are considered the most prestigious,^[17] widely covered and broadcast by media.^[18] The Wall Street Journal,^[2] BBC News,^[19] CNN,^[20][21] Xinhua News Agency,^[22] and global news agencies such as Reuters,^[23][24] Associated Press^[25] and Agence France-Presse^[26][27] collectively refer to the four major pageants as the "Big Four".