1a public entertainment consisting of a procession of people in elaborate, colourful costumes, or an outdoor performance of a historical scene:they brought the history books to life at the town’s pageant figurativethe pageant of public life
something regarded as a series of interesting and varied events:it’s all part of life’s rich pageant
historical a scene erected on a fixed stage or moving vehicle as a public show.
2 (also beauty pageant)North American a beauty contest.
