Miss World Iceland (originally Miss Iceland; ), is a national beauty pageant in Iceland. The winner of this contest represents Iceland at Miss World. History The competition has been carried out since 1950; in the first year it was called Miss Reykjavík (Ungfrú Reykjavík). Since 1955, the contest has taken place under the current name Miss Iceland. In the past, contest winners gained the right to represent Iceland in Miss Universe, Miss World or Miss International. As of 2009, the winner goes on to compete in Miss World. There are six regional preliminary contests in each of the five rural regions and in the capital Reykjavík. 20 to 24 candidates, three to four from each region, take part in the finals. Iceland is one of the most successful countries at the Miss World pageant with three victories, a record for a nation with a population of less than half a million people. In 2018, the organizers abandoned the Ungfrú Ísland (Miss Iceland) brand in order to adopt a new format for Miss World and created Miss World Iceland. In 2019, former Miss World of 1988, Linda Pétursdóttir, became the license holder for Miss World Iceland and is now in charge of organizing the contest. 2013 applicants Rafn Rafnsson, the new chief executive of the Miss Iceland contest, "in hopes of diversifying the field of contestants beyond the statuesque blonde with striking blue eyes that has become the Icelandic stereotype", said "There is no Miss Iceland stereotype..." One week later, in response to Rafnsson's statement, 1,300 people applied to become Miss Iceland, including several nontraditional candidates, such as: Sigríður Guðmarsdóttir, 48, a female governmental minister in Reykjavik Reynir Sigurðbjörnsson, 47, a male electrician Ása Richardsdóttir, a 49-year-old female producer in the fine arts industry Matthildur Helgadóttir-Jónudóttir, a female event manager also in her 40s Brynhildur Heiðardóttir Ómarsdóttir, a female literary critic Sigríður Ingibjörg Ingadóttir, a female Member of Parliament for the Social Democratic Alliance Guðrún Jónsdóttir, a spokesperson for Stígamót (organization that fights sexual abuse against women) Hildur Lillendahl, a feminist in Iceland Björk Vilhelmsdóttir, a city councilor of Reykjavík and feminist Þórdís Elva Þorvaldsdóttir, a writer and actress In response to the increase of nontraditional applicants, Rafnsson said, "We have to follow the rules set by the international contest." This "means rejecting any applicants younger than 18 or older than 24. In addition to the age limits, contestants must be