No more Miss Nederland: Support platform replaces beauty show

The annual Miss Nederland beauty contest has come to an end after 35 years and no more competitions will be held, the owner of the title rights said on Thursday.

Monica van Ee said that instead, she is setting up an online platform to help support young women.

The competition has “left a unique legacy” but the time is right for a new direction, she told news agency ANP. “The sceptre and crown are no longer relevant to today,” she said. “What is relevant is to create a space where women can support each other and grow.”

The last contest took place in June, during which Amber Rustenberg was chosen as Miss Nederland. She will spend the rest of her “year in office” promoting the new platform which has been named Niet meer van deze tijd or “no longer relevant”

The platform should become a place where traditional ideas are dumped. “We will focus on themes such as self-expression, diversity, mental and physical health, creativity and social change,” she said. “We will ask experts and those with experience to speak about the major questions of today.”

Social media and youngsters are often seen as a negative combination, she said. “We want to change this.”

The idea to set up a new platform was partly sparked by the negative energy surrounding the 2024 winner, transgender woman Rikkie Kollé, who received death threats after taking the title.