A common comparison made by feminists that beauty contests are like a cattle market for women, have been displaced by realities surrounding the event.

Choosing symbolic kings and queens for May Day and other festivities is an ancient custom in Europe, where beautiful young women also symbolised the nation, virtue, or other abstract ideals. African history holds similar realities. And The modern beauty pageant can trace its origin to the Miss America pageant, first held in Atlantic City in 1921, under the title "Inter-City Beauty" contest.

As a result, Dis & Dat delved into the looming Miss Summer 2006. Nine beauty angels are warming up for the first edition of Miss Summer 2006 beauty pageant at the President International Awards in Bakau.

The angels, who share similar amazing exuberance, are being prepared for the September 15th big bang, which continue to dominate discussions in the Bantabas, ghettos and vous.

Many hold that it will be reminiscent of the Miss Bakau 2006 in June, that attracted overwhelming attention and popularity among young people, celebrities, and even a handful of senior government officials.

Speaking to Dis & Dat, Williams Brown, head of Miss Summer 2006 Organising Committee, said the preparations are at an advance stage, saying “the girls have been training regularly. We are very optimistic, because the feedback has been immensely encouraging. What we are trying to do now is to adequately prepare the contestants in order to present a memorable package for our guest and invitees. It’s going to be fantastic”.

Mr Brown, who was a trainer in Miss Bakau 2006, disclosed that there is a lot of surprises in stock for the Friday night. According to him, the night will also see the parade of five talented male models.

Commenting on the prizes, Mr Brown said the winner of the Miss Summer will receive a cash prize of D8,000, while the first runner up will get D6,000. “The second runner up will be presented with D4,000, the third runner up will get D2,000, the miss entertainment will receive D1,500 and an amount of D1,000 for each of the remaining contestants,” he said.

He told the Dis & Dat that both Gambian and foreign artists will perform to make the evening much more agreeable for the audience. “The Black Acoustic, three year old ‘Michael Jackson’ from Liberia, The Gambia’s Beyounce, Nancy Nantz, Abou Yama and Positive OG from Nigeria, will stage live performances. Mustapha ‘N’ Lamine Ndiaye from Senegal, as well as King Silloana will also perform. The entertainment is a mixture of both local and foreign talents. This will produce remarkable results,” he added.

He also revealed that Miss Togo will perform as a guest model.

According to him, several other personalities, including Miss Gambia 2006 Tida Camara, Miss Liberia and other dignitaries, will attend the contest.

The first modern pageant was staged by P. T. Barnum in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down by public protest (he had previously held dog, baby, and bird beauty contests). He substituted daguerreotypes for judging, a practice quickly adopted by newspapers, which held photo beauty contests for many decades.

During the 1950s, pageants thrived to promote county fairs and local products . For example, some of Raquel Welch's titles included "Miss Photogenic" and "Miss Contour".