Our journey on celebrating Miss World 60th anniversary continues with the next 20 years of history and trivia!
1971
Best National Costume was awarded for the first time. The very first winner of this award was Onelia Ison Jose from Philippines.
1972
Belinda Green from Australia won the 1972 edition of Miss World. Her victory came in the year where Australia also won Miss Universe and Miss Asia Pasific title. The only other nation who manages to win these three titles at the same year is India in 2000.
1973
The 1973 edition saw another controversy when the winner, Marjorie Wallace from United States, was unceremoniously dethroned just 104 days after she won the crown. Pageant officials stated that Wallace "had failed to fulfill the basic requirements of the job". The 1st Runner Up, Evangeline Pascual from Philippines was not offered the title but only the duties. The 2nd Runner Up, Patricia Teresa Yuen Leung from Jamaica accepted the offer to complete the duties of Miss World 1973 without being officially crowned Miss World. Pageant officials would later say that a decision was made by the Miss World Organization to not offer the title to any of the Runners Up.
1974
Helen Elizabeth Morgan from United Kingdom was the first officially dethroned Miss World winner. She was dethroned four days after the contest when it was discovered that she had a child. Helen was replaced by her 1st Runner Up, Anneline Kriel from South Africa. Another case of dethroned winner happened in 1980 when Gabriella Brum from Germany resigned only 18 hours after her crowning.
1975
Wilnelia Merced from Puerto Rico won the 1975 edition of Miss World. She would later become the official Miss World swimsuit designer from 2003 to 2008.
1976
Another controversial edition of Miss World. As part of their protest against racist image projected by the presence of two South African entrants, one black and one white, 9 nations decided to withdraw from the contest. This was also the last edition where Africa South competed in Miss World.
1977
Marie Ann Catrin Stavins was only a farmer daughter when the organizer of Miss Sweden appointed her as a replacement to compete at Miss World after the original Miss Sweden winner decided to compete at Miss Universe instead. Marie Ann ended up winning the Miss World crown and later appeared at two James Bond movies, Octopussy and A View to Kill.
1978
Miss Talent was awarded for the first time. Despite being a part of almost every Miss World edition, it is not until 2001 when Miss Talent becomes an annual award and in 2003 when it becomes a Fast track event. The very first winner of this award was Louvette Monzon Hammond from Philippines.
1979
Gina Swainson from Bermuda is one of the most successful woman to compete at major Grand Slam pageants. She was the 1st Runner Up of Miss Universe 1979 and later won Miss World 1979 title. The only other woman to match her achievement is Rosemary Frankland, Miss World 1961 and 1st Runner Up Miss Universe 1961.
1980
The slogan “Beauty with A Purpose” was introduced for the first time. In the spirit of this new slogan, Miss World also started to judge its contestants based on personality and intelligence.
1981
The Continental Queen of Beauty were awaded for the first time. The awards were given for the best contestant from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania region.
1982
Indonesia competed in Miss World for the first time. The contestant who represented Indonesia in this inaugural edition was Andi Botenri.
1983
Unnur Steinsson from Iceland was 3 months pregnant when she competed in Miss World 1983. Her pregnancy was never discovered during the competition, and she ended up as a finalist. She would later give birth to a daughter named Unnur Birna, who would win Miss World crown 22 years later. Famous actresses Maggie Cheung from Hong Kong and Michelle Yeoh from Malaysia also competed in this edition.
1984
The winner of 1984 edition, Astrid Herrera from Venezuela, was criticised by animal rights activists for her role as an official pin-up girl in her home city Caracas for the game “coleos”. In this game, young bulls are chased into a narrow corral by men on horseback who attempt to roll the bulls onto their backs. The animals are gripped by the tails to throw them off their feet and sometimes end up with broken legs, dislocated hips or no tails. The demonstrators gathered outside the venue outside, bringing some banners included one reading “Bullfighting Miss Venezuela get out”.
1985
Brenda Denton from United States became the very first non Latina contestant to win Continental Queen of Americas title.
1986
Famous Hollywood actress and Oscar winner Halle Berry was the representative of United States in Miss World 1986. She ended up as 5th Runner Up.
1987
United Kingdom failed to place in semifinal for the first time after 30 years of consecutive placement. The competition format was also changed when the number of semifinalists was reduced from Top 15 to Top 12.
1988
The format of the competition was changed again with only Top 10 semifinalists and Top 5 finalists. This format was used until the 2001 edition.
1989
The first Miss World edition held outside United Kingsom. The finale of Miss World 1989 took place at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center with some of the peliminary activities took place at Taipei, Taiwan.
1990
For the first time ever, the Parade of Nation segment for this edition was not done in the usual alphabetical order, but in accordance of the continental region, Africa, Asia & Oceania, Americas, Caribbean, and Europe.
Our journey will continue with the last 20 years .... soon!
Source : Wikipedia & Pageantopolis
