It was originally planned as a one-off event. Upon learning about the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, Morley decided to make the pageant an annual event.

Opposition to the wearing of bikinis led to their replacement with more modest swim wear after the first contest. In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the competition. The pageant's popularity grew with the advent of television. By the 1990s, the pageant was reaching two billion viewers from almost every country in the world.

In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With a Purpose, with added tests of intelligence and personality.

However, the competition has been seen as old-fashioned and rather politically incorrect in its native Britain. Despite the global appeal, the show was not broadcast on any major British TV network for several years, until Channel 5 aired it in 1998.