After 27 years, the Miss World pageant is coming back to India. The pageant was held in Bangalore in 1996, but no Indian city has subsequently hosted it despite a number of Indian girls taking home the coveted title. This year, that is changing. Before the host city was revealed, Julia Morley, CEO of the Miss World Organization, spoke about the ‘homecoming,’ hopes for hosting Miss World in India, and her recollections of Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai from their Miss World years. Over a generation has passed since India last hosted Miss World. “When we had the show in Bangalore, it was a different time, a different era,” agrees Julia, adding, “But now, it feels like coming home almost because since then, we have come here several times with Aishwarya, Priyanka, and Manushi. I am really excited for this now.”

India is one of the most successful nations at the competition. Five of these girls have gone on to achieve Her first memories of people like Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai, who won in 2000 and 1994, respectively, are described as follows: “Priyanka was a totally different person, more reserved, which is always fascinating. But Aishwarya was a baby. We felt protective of her and wanted to mother her. When we have done recent Miss World shows, sometimes she has come over to say hello and there’s something magical about her giggle and smile.”

In fact, Julia recalls how Aishwarya stunned everyone—including the organisers—when she competed in Miss World 1994 in South Africa.. “I remember her eyes! The director who was doing the show said, ‘my God, one of the girls has the most incredible eyes’. He didn’t know who she was. When we opened the show that year, he zoomed in on those eyes. I said, ‘is that favouritism’. He just said thank God I’m not a judge,” she remembers.

In the five decades that Julia has managed the Miss World pageant, she claims that Aishwarya has remained one of her favourites. “Aishwarya is my baby. I didn’t choose between the girls but my baby was Aishwarya. When she came into the competition, she was so young, only 18, all giggly. But she was lovely and she was a true, honest, open, happy, beautiful young woman. She was a joy to work with,” she said.