Photo: Donald Kravitz / Stringer / Getty Images

With the preliminaries almost over, many are wondering what the Miss America schedule for 2018 is going to look like. The Miss America date can be easily mistaken, especially since the preliminaries take place before the actual pageant airs. If you plan on tuning into the Miss America 2018 live stream, you’ll need to have the right date and channel! When is Miss America 2018? Keep reading for details on the Miss America time and channel for the 2018 pageant.  

The 2018 Miss America Time & Place

The preliminary stages are to take place September 7, 8, and 9. Winners of the preliminary rounds so far include Miss Lousiana, Laryssa Bonacquisiti for the swimsuit portion, Miss Minnesota, Brianna Drevlow for her classical piano talent, who joined the preliminary winners form Wednesday night; Miss Texas, Margana Wood and Miss Utah, Jessi Kate Riley. To find out who’ll win the ultimate title of Miss America 2018, viewers will need to tune into the official pageant on ABC. Wondering when is the Miss America Pageant? It’ll air on the national network on Sunday, September 10 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Hosts Chris Harrison and Sage Steele will be joined on stage by Miss America 2017, Savvy Shields. She’ll be handing over “one of the greatest jobs in the world” to the new winner. There’s a certain stigma around beauty pageants, and some people are against the whole idea beauty pageants to begin with. However, Shields vehemently defends her title and the pageant industry to those who have negative things to say:

“People forget and people don’t really know that [Miss America] is the largest scholarship organization in the world,” Shields told Fox News. “I am still walking away with over $90K in scholarship that I haven’t even touched. I can graduate college debt-free and go for more education, not even having to worry about it. I’m not just speaking for myself, I’m speaking for every single contestant, national, state, and local title-holder that is a part of this organization.”

Handing Over the Crown

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, there’s one thing we know for sure—the girls competing for the title of Miss America 2018 really want it. As it nears the 2018 Miss America time, Shields prepares to hand over her position. She recalls the moment she was named Miss America 2017 saying, “I’m pretty sure I blacked out… I fully didn’t remember until a month after I was crowned. It goes so fast and you do not stop so the moment you do stop it’s roughly when you’re on an airport a month later and you realize that you’re Miss America. But I remember that moment in pictures. I remember in visual frames of when I saw my mom at the end of the runway and then when I turn back around and saw my friends. And then I remember Miss Tennessee running towards me.”

Honoring Mothers of the Brave

This weekend, mothers whose sons were killed while serving in the American military will be honored as part of the pageant. Nine mothers will be honored as honorary Miss Americas on Sunday, as a small symbol of the country’s gratitude for their children’s sacrifice. The mothers will be put up at the Caesar’s casino in Atlantic City, and be pampered before the show. They’ll also be escorted by military officials, and enjoy the un-televised pre-show activities.

To see the Miss America 2018 pageant, tune into ABC this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. EST.