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.
| Miss World 1979 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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, Saint Vincent, Tunisia |
| Returns | Bolivia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Panama, Portugal |
| Winner | Gina Swainson[4] Bermuda |
| Personality | Anne-Marie Franke (Guam) |
| Photogenic | Karin Zorn (Austria) |
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
Placements
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss World 1979 | |
| 1st Runner-up | |
| 2nd Runner-up |
|
| 3rd Runner-up |
|
| 4th Runner-up |
|
| Top 7 | |
| Top 15 |
|
Contestants
| 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
Debuts
Returns
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Miss World Competition Through the Years". E!. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ a b "The Sumter Daily Item". Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ a b c New Straits Times
- ^ "Miss World not shown as BBC dispute worsens", The Times page 2, 16 November 1979
- ^ "Miss Mundo 1979". MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Miss Mundo 1979". MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2023.