Here they come. The 45 women who will compete in Vicksburg for the crown of Miss Mississippi 2010 will arrive in the city for a week this morning, and local officials are hoping they’ll be followed by money.

“Pageant week is a tremendous economic boom for the city,” said David Blackledge, a banker who serves as chairman of the Miss Mississippi Corporation and executive director of the pageant.

“People come in for eight days from around the state to stay in our hotels, use our florists and to shop around town, especially downtown and at the outlets,” he said.

Unofficial revenue figures at businesses during pageant week, Blackledge said, are estimated to top $1 million.

This year’s pageant is the 53rd in Vicksburg.

“We’re averaging about 2,000 people a night,” he said. “On finals night, we’ll have at least 2,100 to 2,200 people. We’ve always had that kind of interest in the show for a number of years.”

The annual parade of contestants will be at 7 Monday night, and the women then will fan out to downtown businesses to meet autograph-seekers. Other autograph parties will dot the week that centers on three nights of preliminary competition — Wednesday, Thursday and Friday — and the crowning on Saturday night. Except for the parade and autograph sessions, the public events will be at Vicksburg Convention Center.

The new Miss Mississippi, who will take the crown worn by Anna Tadlock for the past year, will compete in Las Vegas Jan. 15 for the title of Miss America.

Contestants will be lodged at the La Quinta Inn & Suites on South Frontage Road.

Throughout the week, they will be chauffeured by volunteer hostesses and will have limited contact with the public.

As the number of tourists rises, the Vicksburg Police Department and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office are planning extra patrols.

“We’re flexing some shifts to allow maximum coverage and adequate security,” Vicksburg police Deputy Chief Mitchell Dent said. “We’re shifting so that we won’t incur a lot of overtime,” which he estimated will be about 17 hours.

“We’ll have on-duty officers to help with traffic” and to secure the convention center, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace, the pageant’s security chairman.

Tickets for four nights of competition are still available at the pageant office on Monroe Street, according to a spokesman for the pageant.