Miss World 1979

Miss World 1979
Date	15 November 1979
Presenters	Sacha Distel and Esther Rantzen
Venue	Royal Albert Hall, London, England, United Kingdom
Broadcaster	BBC
Entrants	69
Debuts	Lesotho
Withdraws	Curaçao, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Venezuela
Returns	Bolivia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Panama, and Portugal
Winner	Gina Swainson  Bermuda
Personality	Anne-Marie Franke  Guam
Photogenic	Karin Zorn  Austria

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results.

Miss World 1979, the 29th Miss World pageant, was held on November 15, 1979 in the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK. The winner was Gina Swainson from Bermuda. First runner-up was Carolyn Seaward representing the United Kingdom, second was Debbie Campbell from Jamaica, third was Jodie Day of Australia, and fourth was Barbara Meyer from Switzerland.

Results

Final results	Contestant
Miss World 1979	Bermuda - Gina Swainson
1st Runner-up	United Kingdom - Carolyn Seaward
2nd Runner-up	Jamaica - Debbie Campbell
3rd Runner-up	Australia - Jodie Anne Day
4th Runner-up	Switzerland - Barbara Meyer
Top 7 Finalists	Brazil - Lea Silvia Dall'acqua  Austria - Karin Zorn
Top 15 Semifinalists	Germany - Andrea Hontschik  Malaysia - Shirley Chew  Mexico - Roselina Rosas Torres  Panama - Lorelay de la Ossa  Spain - Maria Dolores Forner Toro  Trinidad & Tobago - Marlene Coggins  United States - Carter Wilson  Uruguay - Laura Rodriguez Delgado

Special awards

• Personality: Anne-Marie Franke (Guam)
• Photogenic: Karin Zorn (Austria)

Contestants

Contestant Number	Nation	Contestant
01	Argentina	Veronica Ivonne Gargani
02	Aruba	Vianca Maria Magdalena van Hoek
03	Australia	Jodie Anne Day
04	Austria	Karin Zorn
05	Bahamas	Deborah Elizabeth Major
06	Belgium	Christine Linda Bernadette Cailliau
07	Bermuda	Gina Ann Cassandra Swainson
08	Bolivia	Patricia Asbun Galarza
09	Brazil	Lea Silvia dall'Acqua
10	Canada	Catherine Emily Mackintosh
11	Cayman Islands	Jennifer Pearl Jackson
12	Chile	Marianela Veronica Toledo Rojas
13	Colombia	Rosaura Rodriguez Covo
14	Costa Rica	Marianela Brealy Mora
15	Cyprus	Eliana Djiaboura
16	Denmark	Lone Gladys Joergensen
17	Dominican Republic	Sabrina Brugal Tillian
18	Ecuador	Olba Lourdes Padilla Guevarra
19	El Salvador	Judith Ivette Lopez Lagos
20	Finland	Tuire Venla Sulotar Pentikainen
21	France	Sylvie Helene Marie Perera
22	Germany	Andrea Hontschik
23	Gibraltar	Audrey Lopez
24	Greece	Mika (Dimitra) Dimitropoulou
25	Guam	Anne-Marie Kay Franke
26	Guatemala	Michelle Marie Dominguez Santos
27	Holland	Nannetje Johanna (Nanny) Nielen
28	Honduras	Gina Maria Weidner Cleaves
29	Hong Kong	Mary Ng Wei Lei
30	Iceland	Sigrun Saetran
31	India	Raina Winifred Mendonica
32	Ireland	Maura McMennamim
33	Isle of Man	Kathleen Mary Craig
34	Israel	Dana Feller
35	Italy	Rossana Serratore
36	Jamaica	Debbie Rachelle Campbell
37	Japan	Motomi Hibino
38	Jersey	Treena Alison Foster
39	Korea	Hong Yeo-jin
40	Lebanon	Jacqueline (Jacky) Riachi
41	Lesotho	Pauline Essie Kanedi
42	Malaysia	Shirley Chew
43	Malta	Elena Christine Abela
44	Mauritius	Marie Chanea Allard
45	Mexico	Roselina Rosas Torres
46	New Zealand	Nicola Lesley (Nikki) Ducksworth
47	Nigeria	Helen Prest
48	Norway	Jeannette Aarum
49	Panama	Lorelay de la Ossa
50	Paraguay	Martha Maria Galli Romanach
51	Peru	Lucia Magali Perez Godoy Quintanilla
52	Philippines	Josefina Francisco
53	Portugal	Ana Gonçalves Vieira
54	Puerto Rico	Daisy Marissette Lopez
55	Singapore	Violet Lee
56	Spain	Maria Dolores (Lola) Forner Toro
57	Sri Lanka	Shamila Weerasooriya
58	Swaziland	Gladys Adelaide Carmichael
59	Sweden	Ingrid Marie Säveby
60	Switzerland	Barbara Meyer
61	Tahiti	Thilda Raina Fuller
62	Thailand	Tipar Suparbpun
63	Trinidad & Tobago	Marlene Coggins
64	Turkey	Sebnem Unal
65	United Kingdom	Carolyn Ann Seaward
66	United States	Carter Wilson
67	Uruguay	Laura Rodriguez Delgado
68	Virgin Islands	Jasmine Olivia Turner
69	Western Samoa	Danira Leilani Schwalger

Trivia

Returning countries and Debuts

• Lesotho competed in Miss World for the first time.
• Portugal last competed in 1973.
• Guatemala last competed in 1976.
• Bolivia, Lebanon, and Panama last competed in 1977.

Withdrawals and Nations not competing

• Venezuela, Tatiana Capote was disqualified in Miss World 1979 when one of her breasts slipped from the side during the dress rehearsal.

Other notes

• Bermuda and United Kingdom placed as 1st and 2nd runner-ups in Miss Universe 1979 which was held in Perth, Western Australia.
• Germany, Andrea Hontschik made into the semi-finals in both Miss Universe and Miss World at the same year. Austria, Karin Zorn, who failed to put her through the semi-finals in Miss Universe 1979 in Perth four months before, made into the semi-finals in Miss World and then placed as finalist.
• Other than Austria, Bermuda, Germany, and United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras and Mauritius also competed in Miss Universe four months before.
• Ireland, Paraguay and Tahiti competed in Miss Universe 1980 in Seoul. Tahiti made into the semi-finals.
• Virgin Islands, Jasmine Olivia Turner, competed in Miss Universe 1986.
• Western Samoa, Danira Leilani Schwalger, was half-Maori and half-New Zealander, and was also the sister of Lenita Marian Schwalger who competed in Miss Universe 1981 in New York.
• Isle of Man, Kathleen Mary Craig, was the eldest of Craig sisters who competed in Miss World.
• 8 out of 15 countries which made it into the semifinals, were not in the semifinals last year: Malaysia (1963), Uruguay (1975), Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago (1976), and Brazil and Germany (1977). Bermuda and Panama made into the semi-finals for the first time in Miss World. The former debuted in 1971, while the latter in 1967. Ultimately, Bermuda won the title.

External Sources

• Pageantopolis
• Jimmy's Pageant Page