Miss World: history and winners of the famous beauty pageant

Miss World: story and winners of the famous beauty contest in today’s post by Fashionaut

Welcome to Fashionaut, the site dedicated to the world of fashion and lifestyle that today returns to talk to you about famous beauty contests : after having illustrated the history and the winners of Miss Universe and Miss Italy , today it is the turn of Miss World, the famous beauty contest founded in the UK in the 1950s.

In fact, we will see in the origins of the competition, the winners and the format. We will also give you the useful link to be able to apply for the Italian selection of Miss World, which each year chooses the Italian representative at the famous event.

Happy reading everyone from Fashionaut!

Miss World: the origins and history of the famous contest

Miss World is a beauty contest founded by Eric Morley in Great Britain in 1951 and today organized by his wife Julia (since the death of its founder in 2000).

Miss World along with Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth, is one of the most publicized beauty pageants in the world. Taken together, they form the Big Four International Beauty Pageants, the four most important beauty pageants in the world.

Italy has never won the title, coming close in 2000 when Giorgia Palmas ranks 2nd.

The origins of Miss World are to be found in the organization of a contest dedicated to the launch of bikini fashion. In fact we are at the dawn of the fashion of swimwear, which are thus worn by the participants.

In the beginning the event was called the Festival Bikini Contest , as part of the traditional Festival of Britain.

But the contest has such a hype in the local media that it is renamed Miss World by the same press.

And even the first winner of the competition, the Swedish Kerstin “Kiki” Hakansson , ends up fueling this initiative, so much so that Eric Morley himself changed the name of the competition and registered the trademark first by calling it Miss World.

Public opinion immediately lashed out against the competition, a harbinger of them telling them to show nudity to the public. She therefore opts for the most “chaste” one-piece swimsuit and Hakansson is therefore the only Miss World crowned in a bikini.

The format and live television

The format foresees from the beginning the order of the winners starting from number three and then arriving at the final winner, since this keeps the tension high and avoids the anticlimax. If at the beginning of the competition, everything was defined solely on the basis of the beauty of the participant and fashion shows, over the years the controversies have convinced the organizers to introduce skill tests, tests and questions of intelligence and general culture.

This competition has always seen extensive media coverage, especially in the UK. In fact, in 1959 the BBC began broadcasting the competition and its popularity increased year by year. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World was among the most viewed programs of the year on British television.

After a decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the competition goes through a transitional phase. In fact, in 2000 its historic organizer Eric Morley died, leaving the organization to his wife Julia.

The handover brings with it many innovations, starting with the first winner originally from Africa : we are talking about Agbani Darego from Nigeria; moreover, spectators at home also begin to vote by means of televoting called “You decide”. In the meantime, it also sells its Talent, Beach Beauty and Sports lei events as television specials for various broadcasters and the event is also broadcast outside its national borders.

Miss World thus returns to vogue and establishes itself as one of the leading beauty contests in the world.

Miss World Italy

As anticipated at the beginning, in order to participate in the competition at a global level, it is necessary to win the Miss World Italy sash. The competition takes place in over 300 selection evenings a year, involving the most famous squares and clubs in Italy.

To participate in the national selections, a series of requirements are required, which are:

• be born between 1994 and 2004;
• unmarried marital status, not having had children and not being pregnant;
• of Italian citizenship;

In order to send your application, you can follow the link by clicking here.

The last Italian to win Miss World Italy was Adele Sammartino , who took part in the London final in December 2019.

Miss World winners

Below you will find all the winners of the Miss World beauty contest, placed in chronological order.

Year
Country
Miss World
Place

1951
Sweden
Kerstin “Kiki” Hakansson
London, United Kingdom

1952
Sweden
May Louise Flodin
London, United Kingdom

1953
France
Denise Perrier
London, United Kingdom

1954
Egypt
Antigone Costanda
London, United Kingdom

1955
Venezuela
Carmen Susana Dujim Zubillaga
London, United Kingdom

1956
West Germany
Petra Schurmann
London, United Kingdom

1957
Finland
Marita Lindahl
London, United Kingdom

1958
South Africa
Penelope Anne Coelen
London, United Kingdom

1959
Netherlands
Corine Rottschafer
London, United Kingdom

1960
Argentina
Norma Gladys Cappagli
London, United Kingdom

1961
United Kingdom
Rosemarie Frankland
London, United Kingdom

1962
Netherlands
Catharina Lodders
London, United Kingdom

1963
Jamaica
Carole Joan Crawford
London, UK

1964
United Kingdom
Ann Sydney
London, United Kingdom

1965
United Kingdom
Lesley Langley
London, United Kingdom

1966
India
Reita Faria
London, United Kingdom

1967
Peru
Madeleine Hartog Bell
London, United Kingdom

1968
Australia
Penelope Plummer
London, United Kingdom

1969
Austria
Eva Rueber-Staier
London, United Kingdom

1970
Grenada
Jennifer Hosten
London, United Kingdom

1971
Brazil
Lucia Tavares Petterle
London, United Kingdom

1972
Australia
Belinda Green
London, UK

1973
United States of America
Marjorie Wallace
London, United Kingdom

1974
South Africa
Anneline Kriel 1
London, United Kingdom

1975
Puerto Rico
Wilnelia Merced
London, United Kingdom

1976
Jamaica
Cindy Breakspeare
London, UK

1977
Sweden
Mary Stavin
London, United Kingdom

1978
Argentina
Silvana Suarez
London, United Kingdom

1979
Bermuda
Gina Swainson
London, UK

1980
Guam
Kimberley Santos 2
London, United Kingdom

1981
Venezuela
Carmen Josefina “Pilin” Leon Crespo
London, United Kingdom

1982
Dominican Rep.
Mariasela Alvarez
London, United Kingdom

1983
United Kingdom
Sarah-Jane Hutt
London, United Kingdom

1984
Venezuela
Astrid Carolina Herrera Irrazabal
London, United Kingdom

1985
Iceland
Holmfridur Karlsdottir
London, UK

1986
Trinidad and Tobago
Giselle Laronde
London, United Kingdom

1987
Austria
Ulla Weigerstorfer
London, United Kingdom

1988
Iceland
Linda Petursdottir
London, United Kingdom

1989
Polonia
Aneta Beata Kreglicka
Hong Kong

1990
United States of America
Gina Tolleson
London, United Kingdom

1991
Venezuela
Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jimenez
Atlanta, United States of America

1992
Russia
Julija Kurockina
Sun City, South Africa

1993
Jamaica
Lisa Hanna
Sun City, South Africa

1994
India
Aishwarya Rai
Sun City, South Africa

1995
Venezuela
Jacqueline Aguilera Marcano
Sun City, South Africa

1996
Greece
Irene Skliva
Bangalore, India

1997
India
Diana Hayden
Mahe, Seychelles

1998
Israel
Linor Abargil
Mahe, Seychelles

1999
India
Yukta Mookhey
London, United Kingdom

2000
India
Priyanka Chopra
London, United Kingdom

2001
Nigeria
Asenite Darego
Sun City, South Africa

2002
Turkey
Azra Akin
London, United Kingdom

2003
Ireland
Rosanna Davison
Sanya, China

2004
Peru
Maria Julia Mantilla
Sanya, China

2005
Iceland Unnur
Birna Vilhjalmsdottir
Sanya, China

2006
Rep. Dig
Mr. Kucharova Warsaw
, Poland

2007
China
Zhang Zilin
Sanya, China

2008
Russia
Ksenija Suchinova
Johannesburg, South Africa

2009
Gibraltar
Kaiane Aldorino
Johannesburg, South Africa

2010
United States of America
Alexandria Mills
Sanya, China

2011
Venezuela
Ivian Sarcos
London, United Kingdom

2012
Cina
Yu Wenxia
Ordos, Mongolia

2013
Filippine
Megan Young
Bali, Indonesia

2014
South Africa
Rolene Strauss
London, UK

2015
Spagna
Mireia Lalaguna Royo
Sanya, China

2016
Puerto Rico
Stephanie Del Valle
Oxon Hill, USA

2017
India
Manushi Chhillar
Sanya, Cina

2018
Mexico
Vanessa Ponce
Sanya, China

2019
Jamaica
Toni-Ann Singh
London, UK

2020
Morocco
Cabani Jihan
London, UK

We therefore await the winner of the 2020 competition, for which we have left the space blank. Our post dedicated to beauty pageants ends here. See you next time at Fashionaut!