Miss World 1979

Beauty pageant edition

Miss World 1979

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss World 1979[1][2][3]

Date| 15 November 1979
Presenters| Esther Rantzen and Sacha Distel†
Venue| Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
Broadcaster| BBC
Entrants| 70
Placements| 15
Debuts| Lesotho
Withdrawals| Curaçao, St. Vincent, Tunisia
Returns| Bolivia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Panama, Portugal
Winner| Gina Swainson [4]
Bermuda
Personality| Anne-Marie Franke
Guam
Photogenic| Karin Zorn
Austria

<- 1978

1980 ->

Miss World 1979, the 29th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 15 November 1979 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. The winner was Gina Swainson from Bermuda.[4] She was crowned by Miss World 1978, Silvana Suarez of Argentina. First runner-up was Carolyn Seaward representing the United Kingdom and second runner-up was Debbie Campbell from Jamaica. Swainson was a first runner-up in Miss Universe 1979 represented Bermuda and Carolyn Seaward was a second runner-up in same pageant represented England.

Live television coverage of the contest was largely abandoned by the BBC as a result of a trade union dispute typical of the era in Britain, when sound engineers refused to work, and the BBC decided shortly beforehand that it could not show live pictures without a commentary. The parade of the contestants in their national costumes and each of the entrants in their evening wear had been recorded the night before, so this was televised, followed later in the evening with the crowning of the winner with mute pictures narrated by Ray Moore.[5] A unscheduled repeat of Futtocks End was televised to bridge the two segments. For later overseas transmission, a commentary was added to the silent pictures of the entire event, but the interviews with the final 7 contestants were never shown.

## Results[edit]

### Placements[edit]

Placement  | Contestant

|

Miss World 1979 |

* Bermuda – Gina Swainson[4]

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  |

* Brazil – Lea Silvia Dall'acqua[6]
* Austria – Karin Zorn[7]

Top 15  |

* Germany – Andrea Hontschik†
* Malaysia – Shirley Chew
* Mexico – Roselina Rosas Torres
* Panama – Lorelay de la Ossa
* Spain – María Dolores Forner Toro
* Trinidad and Tobago – Marlene Coggins
* United States – Carter Wilson
* Uruguay – Laura Rodríguez Delgado

## Contestants[edit]

Country | Contestant | Age | Hometown

|
|
|

Argentina | Verónica Ivonne Gargani | 19 | Buenos Aires
Aruba | Vianca van Hoek | 20 | Oranjestad
Australia | Jodie Anne Day | 18 | Brisbane
Austria | Karin Zorn | 18 | Weiz
Bahamas | Deborah Major | 20 | Nassau
Belgium | Christine Cailliau | 23 | Brussels
Bermuda | Gina Swainson | 21 | St. George's Parish
Bolivia | Patricia Asbún | 20 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Brazil | Léa Sílvia dall’Acqua | 20 | Campinas
Canada | Catherine Mackintosh | 23 | Thunder Bay
Cayman Islands | Jennifer Jackson | 21 | George Town
Chile | Marianela Toledo | 19 | Santiago
Colombia | Rosaura Rodríguez | 17 | Cartagena
Costa Rica | Marianela Brealey | 17 | San José
Cyprus | Eliana Djiaboura | 24 | Nicosia
Denmark | Lone Jörgensen | 18 | Holstebro
Dominican Republic | Sabrina Brugal | 18 | Santo Domingo
Ecuador | Olba Padilla | 18 | Guayaquil
El Salvador | Ivette Lopez | 19 | San Salvador
Finland | Tuire Pentikäinen | 23 | Helsinki
France | Sylvie Parera | 18 | Marseille
Germany | Andrea Hontschik | 20 | Berlin
Gibraltar | Audrey Lopez | 21 | Gibraltar
Greece | Mika Dimitropoulou | 17 | Athens
Guam | Anne-Marie Franke | 18 | Hagatna
Guatemala | Michele Domínguez | 19 | Guatemala City
Holland | Nannetje Nielen | 22 | Amsterdam
Honduras | Gina Maria Weidner | 18 | San Pedro Sula
Hong Kong | Mary Ng | 21 | Kowloon Bay
Iceland | Sigrún Sætran | 24 | Reykjavík
India | Raina Mendonica | 22 | Bombay
Ireland | Maura McMenamim | 21 | Dublin
Isle of Man | Kathleen Mary Craig | 17 | Douglas
Israel | Dana Feller | 19 | Tel-Aviv
Italy | Rossana Serratore | 18 | Asti
Jamaica | Debbie Campbell[1] | 17 | Kingston
Japan | Motomi Hibino | 19 | Nagoya
Jersey | Treena Foster | 21 | Saint Helier
Korea | Hong Yeo-jin | 21 | Seoul
Lebanon | Jacqueline Riachi | 19 | Beirut
Lesotho | Pauline Essie Kanedi | 22 | Maseru
Malaysia | Shirley Chew | 18 | Kangar
Malta | Elena Christine Abela | 17 | Sliema
Mauritius | Maria Allard | 24 | Port Louis
Mexico | Roselina Rosas Torres | 19 | Durango City
New Zealand | Nicola Duckworth | 17 | Auckland
Nigeria | Helen Prest | 20 | Ibadan
Norway | Jeanette Aarum | 20 | Fredrikstad
Panama | Lorelay de la Ossa | 19 | Panama City
Paraguay | Martha Galli | 19 | Asunción
Peru | Magali Pérez-Godoy | 18 | Lima
Philippines | Josefina Francisco | 18 | Manila
Portugal | Ana Gonçalves Vieira | 18 | Lisbon
Puerto Rico | Daisy López | 18 | San Juan
Singapore | Violet Lee | 20 | Singapore
Spain | Dolores Forner | 19 | Madrid
Sri Lanka | Shamila Weerasooriya | 17 | Colombo
Swaziland | Gladys Carmichael | 17 | Manzini
Sweden | Ing-Marie Säveby | 19 | Stockholm
Switzerland | Barbara Mayer | 21 | Marly
Tahiti | Thilda Fuller | 24 | Pape'ete
Thailand | Tipar Suparbpun | 22 | Bangkok
Trinidad and Tobago | Marlene Coggins | 21 | San Fernando
Turkey | Sebnem Unal | 18 | Istanbul
United Kingdom | Carolyn Seaward | 20 | Yelverton
United States | Carter Wilson[3] | 23 | Harrisonburg
United States Virgin Islands | Jasmine Olivia Turner | 17 | Saint Croix
Uruguay | Laura Rodríguez | 21 | Montevideo
Venezuela | Tatiana Capote[2] | 18 | Barinas
Western Samoa | Danira Schwalger | 19 | Apia

## Notes[edit]

### Debuts[edit]

* Lesotho

### Returns[edit]

* Last competed in 1973:
* Portugal
* Last competed in 1976:
* Guatemala
* Last competed in 1977:
* Bolivia
* Lebanon
* Panama

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Jamaica. W.I.L.I.P. series. W.W. Gaunt & Sons. 1987. p. 92\. ISBN 9780245540240. "They enthusiastically choose a Miss Jamaica Universe each May and a Miss Jamaica World each September And there are ... have been second runners-up in the Miss World finals — Debbie Campbell in 1979 and Sandra Cunningham in 1981."
2. ^ a b "Miss World Competition Through the Years". E!. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
3. ^ a b "The Sumter Daily Item". Retrieved 26 January 2016.
4. ^ a b c New Straits Times
5. ^ "Miss World not shown as BBC dispute worsens", The Times page 2, 16 November 1979
6. ^ "Miss Mundo 1979". MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
7. ^ "Miss Mundo 1979". MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Pageantopolis – Miss World 1979

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