DO you have an interest in world peace? Can you wear a sash with class? If so, the revival of a Seventies tradition could propel you to pageant stardom.

The image might be one of shoulder pads, swimsuits, big hair and bigger make-up - but Miss York is back and is looking to crown a new city champion.

Event organiser Vivienne Lee, a former Miss North Tyneside and Miss Sheffield, wants to hear from girls aged 17 to 24 who want to regale a crowd at York Racecourse with their charm - and possibly their politics.

The winner will get a crack at the Miss England final, which will be held in Liverpool in August, with a chance to compete in the Miss World final, in Sanya, China.

Anyone can apply, and organisers don't want to know details of height, weight and measurements.

A photographic heat will be held to whittle the entrants - who must live within a 30-mile radius of York - down to 20 finalists.

York College students could be designing Miss York's gown, while Vivienne said she was in talks with a jewellery designer to produce the winner's crown.

Although a final date has yet to be fixed, the night will take the format of a fashion show, which will involve a swimwear section.

Vivienne, who has also run a modelling agency, said: "It's a pleasant competition and over the years it has changed so much. The contests are becoming more popular again, and more and more cities are being represented once more.

"We hope we will have a good response and it is also for charity, with the winner known as MS York because we are raising money for the MS centre at Woodlands."

During its heyday in the Seventies and Eighties, hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide tuned in to see who would be crowned the world's most beautiful woman.

York was no different, and held an annual contest. Twenty years ago, Joanne Snowball, a 17-year-old sales assistant from Stockton Lane, took the title - scooping the crown from 17 other finalists.

It was her first win in a beauty contest and, after becoming a local celebrity, she took part in the Miss United Kingdom competition.

The current Miss England is 20-year-old Liverpudlian Danielle Lloyd. For more details on the competition, log on to www.missengland.info

To enter, log on to www.eventsconnect.co.uk

Are you Miss York 1985? If so, contact Mike Laycock at the Evening Press on 01904 567132 or email mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 09:58 Saturday, February 19, 2005