Miss Universe 1994

Last updated

Miss Universe 1994
Sushmita Sen at the Dior store launch.jpg
Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994
Date21 May 1994
Presenters
Entertainment
Venue Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Broadcaster CBS (international)
ABS-CBN (DWWX-TV) (official broadcaster)
Entrants77
Placements10
Debuts
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Zimbabwe
Withdrawals
  • Austria
  • Belize
  • Czech Republic
  • Ghana
  • Lebanon
  • Nicaragua
  • Suriname
  • United States Virgin Islands
Returns
  • Cook Islands
  • Egypt
  • Republic of China
Winner Sushmita Sen
India
Congeniality Barbara Kahatjipara (Namibia)
Best National Costume Charlene Gonzales (Philippines)
Photogenic Minorka Mercado (Venezuela) [1]
Best in Philippine Terno Gown
  1993
1995  

Miss Universe 1994 was the 43rd Miss Universe pageant, held on 21 May 1994 [a] at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines. Seventy-seven contestants competed during this year.

Contents

Outgoing titleholder Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico crowned Sushmita Sen of India at the conclusion of the event, marking the first time India has won Miss Universe, which they would later win again in 2000 and in 2021.

Background

Location and date

Manila was announced as host city for the pageant in October 1993. [2] It was the second time the pageant was held in the Philippines, after it was staged at the nearby Folk Arts Theater in 1974. [2] The country expected to make 10 million ( US$357,000) profit out of the pageant, as well as the accompanying media exposure. [3] The ₱150 million ($5.3 million) spent on hosting the pageant was funded from the private sectors, with sponsors such as Nestlé, Kodak and Hertz. [3] Some of the expected sponsorship money did not materialize, leading the shortfall to be covered by the government. [4] In the midst of power shortages around the time of the pageant, the Philippine government promised to ensure that the weekend of the pageant's coronation night would be "blackout-free". [5] By mid May, as the contestants were already in Manila, organizers confirmed that they were short of money and were unsure whether a profit would be made from the event. [6] There was also a probe by the Commission on Human Rights during May as to whether a police round-up of street children was intended to improve Manila's international image during the pageant events. [7] This was also criticised by Miss Thailand, Areeya Chumsai, even though the same incident occurred in Thailand in the Miss Universe 1992 pageant. [8]

During rehearsal on the day prior to the pageant, a small homemade bomb exploded outside the pageant venue where the contestants had earlier been rehearsing, though it caused minimal damage and there were no injuries. [9] As a result, more than 3000 Filipino police officers were involved in protecting the delegates, as well as dozens of policewomen assigned as personal or group bodyguards. [10]

The pageant came under public attack from the Nationalist Movement of New Women, a branch of the National Democratic Front, which claimed that it was being used to promote sex tourism. [11] The cost of the event was also criticized by the Philippine Congress, despite it being endorsed by President Fidel V. Ramos. [11] A social function attended by the delegates held prior to the final broadcast was picketed by the women's group, who opposed the nature of the pageant and the lavish spending. [12]

Controversies

Miss Malaysia, Liza Koh, made a public apology on behalf of her country about the arrest of 1200 Filipina domestic helpers in Kuala Lumpur. [13] As a result, the Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi admonished her not to make any further political remarks. [14]

Miss Philippines Charlene Gonzales, gained criticism for winning the Best National Costume award, as the judges were also criticized for allegedly favouring the host nation's delegate. Miss British Virgin Islands, Delia Jon Baptiste, publicly declared that Gonzales won the award, because of Filipino favouritism, and that the other delegates disagreed with the choice. Miss Venezuela Minorka Mercado, won the Philippine costume Terno award, followed by Slovakia, who was also celebrating her birthday, and Miss Mexico by their respective placements. [15]

Results

Placements

PlacementContestant
Miss Universe 1994
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
Top 6
Top 10
  • Flag of Greece.svg Greece – Rea Toutounzi
  • Flag of Italy.svg Italy – Arianna David
  • Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden – Domenique Forsberg
  • Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland – Patricia Fässler

Special awards

AwardWinner
Best National Costume
Miss Congeniality
  • Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia - Barbara Kahatjipara
Miss Photogenic

Pageant

Format

Prior to the final telecast, all contestants competed in pre-pageant shows including the national costume and opening show held at the Araneta Coliseum, and swimsuit and evening gown during the preliminary competition held at its main venue, the Philippine International Convention Center. They also participated in interviews with the judges.

During the final competition, the ten semifinalists competed in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview. The top six contestants participated in a final round of on-stage interviews, and cut to the final top three before the runners-up were announced and the new Miss Universe named.

Selection committee

Final telecast

Contestants

Miss Universe 1994 participating countries and territories Miss Universe 1994 Map.PNG
Miss Universe 1994 participating countries and territories

Seventy-seven contestants competed for the title.

Country/TerritoryContestantAge [b] Hometown
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Solange Magnano 22 Santa Fe
Flag of Aruba.svg  Aruba Alexandra Ochoa [17] 18 Oranjestad
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Michelle van Eimeren [18] 22 Brisbane
Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Meka Knowles18 Nassau
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Christelle Roelandts [19] 19 Waremme
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia Cecilia O'Connor-d'Arlach [20] 23 La Paz
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Valéria Melo Peris [21] 23 Conchal
Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg  British Virgin Islands Delia Jon Baptiste [22] 18 Road Town
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Nevena Marinova20 Sofia
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Susanne Rothfos [23] 18 Dawson Creek
Flag of the Cayman Islands (pre-1999).svg Cayman Islands Audrey Ebanks20 Grand Cayman
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Constanza Barbieri18 Santiago
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia Carolina Gómez [24] 19 Bogotá
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands Leilani Brown [25] 18 Rarotonga
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Yasmin Camacho [26] 23 San José
Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao Jasmin Clifton [27] 26 Willemstad
Flag of Cyprus (1960-2006).svg Cyprus Maria Vasiliou19 Nicosia
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Gitte Andersen [28] 25 Copenhagen
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic Vielka Valenzuela 21 Concepción de la Vega
Flag of Ecuador (1900-2009).svg Ecuador Mafalda Arboleda [29] 18 Guayaquil
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Ghada El-Salem [30] 20 Cairo
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Claudia Méndez [31] 22 San Salvador
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Eva-Maria Laan [32] 19 Tallinn
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Henna Meriläinen [33] 19 Tohmajärvi
Flag of France.svg  France Valerie Claisse [34] 21 Saint-Nazaire
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Tanja Wild21 Baden-Württemberg
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain Michaela Pyke [30] 22 Kent
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Rea Toutounzi20 Athens
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam Christina Perez20 Agana
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Katya Schoenstedt20 Guatemala City
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras Jem Haylock23 Guanaja
Flag of Hong Kong (1959-1997).svg Hong Kong Mok Hoi-Yan 24Hong Kong
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Szilvia Forian21 Karcag
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Svala Björk Arnardóttir18 Reykjavík
Flag of India.svg  India Sushmita Sen [35] 18 New Delhi
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Pamela Flood 22 Dublin
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Ravit Yarkoni21 Givatayim
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Arianna David20 Rome
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica Angelie Martin19 Saint James
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Japan Chiaki Kawahito21 Tokyo
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Sandy Wagner20 Luxembourg City
Flag of Malaysia 23px.svg  Malaysia Liza Koh [36] 20 Kuala Lumpur
Flag of Malta.svg Malta Paola Camilleri19 Fleur-de-Lys
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius Viveka Babajee [37] 20 Port Louis
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Fabiola Pérez18 Chihuahua
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia Barbara Kahatjipara 21 Windhoek
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Irene van de Laar [38] 25 Leiden
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Nicola Brighty [30] 21 Auckland
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Suzan Hart18 Benue
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg  Northern Mariana Islands Elizabeth Tomokane [39] 21 Saipan
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Caroline Saetre [40] 18 Møre og Romsdal
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama María Sofía Velásquez 23 Panama City
Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg Paraguay Liliana González23 Asunción
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru Karina Calmet24 La Molina
Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg Philippines Charlene Gonzales [41] 20 Quezon City
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Joanna Brykczynska21 Western Pomerania
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal Mónica Pereira20 Lisbon
Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg Puerto Rico Brenda Robles [42] 18 Isabela
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Republic of China Joanne Wu25 Taipei
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Mihaela Ciolacu20 Bucharest
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Inna Zobova 20 Khimki
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Alien Sun [43] 21Singapore
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Silvia Lakatošová20 Bratislava
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg South Korea Goong Sun-young21 Seoul
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Raquel Rodríguez20 Córdoba
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Nushara Pramali19 Colombo
Flag of Eswatini.svg Swaziland Nicola Smith20 Mbabane
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Domenique Forsberg25 Kiruna
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland Patricia Fässler19 Zürich
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Areeya Chumsai [44] 22 Bangkok
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago Lorca Gatcliffe24 Port of Spain
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Banu Usluer19 Istanbul
Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Turks and Caicos Islands Eulease Walkin23 Providenciales
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Lu Parker [45] 26 Charleston
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Leonora Dibueno [28] 27 Montevideo
Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg Venezuela Minorka Mercado 22 Caracas
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Yvette D'Almeida-Chakras [46] 22 Harare

Contestants Notes

Debuts

Returns

Last competed in 1992:

Replacements

Withdrawals

Did not compete

Observations

Notes

  1. The event was held at 8:00 am Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00); for the Americas, this was May 20 in their local times.
  2. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

  1. Came with $500USD cash prize and 10,000PHP worth value of Philippine-made products.
  2. 1 2 "Philippines to host Miss Universe pageant". Reuters. October 24, 1993.
  3. 1 2 "Philippines expects to profit from Miss Universe". Agence France-Press. March 16, 1994.
  4. Gosh, Nirmal (April 27, 1994). "Row in Manila over cost of Miss Universe pageant". Straits Times.
  5. "Manila says no blackouts for Miss Universe pageant". Agence France-Presse. April 5, 1994.
  6. "Miss Universe organisers short of cash - official". Reuters. May 17, 1994.
  7. "Police roundup of Manila street children under probe". Straits Times. May 2, 1994.
  8. "Miss Thailand : Don't hide street kids". Straits Times. May 12, 1994.
  9. "Miss Universe pageant site bombed". Agence France-Press. May 20, 1994.
  10. "Manila deploys 3,000 policemen for beauties". Reuters. April 26, 1994.
  11. 1 2 "Communist insurgents say Miss Universe promotes sex tourism". Agence France-Press. April 29, 1994.
  12. "Feminists picket Miss Universe social function". Agence France-Press. May 1, 1994.
  13. "Hi, I am sorry". Straits Times. April 28, 1994.
  14. "Miss Malaysia told not to make political remarks". Straits Times. April 29, 1994.
  15. "Ms Universe pageant slammed for hometown verdict". Reuters. May 9, 1994.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Miss Universe 1994 judges announced - UPI Archives". UPI.
  17. "Voorbereiding miss--verkiezing" [Miss pageant preparation]. Amigoe (in Dutch). April 19, 1994. p. 5. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Delpher.
  18. "Michelle Van Eimeren in Miss Universe 1994". GMA Network . February 19, 2020 [28 Enero 2017]. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  19. Sampayan, Anj (August 2, 2016). "Miss Belgium, Miss Colombia, and other Miss Universe 1994 beauties: where are they now?". PEP.ph. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  20. "El título les dio alegrías, trabajo y fama que aún saborean" [The title gave them joy, work and fame that they still savor.]. El Deber (in European Spanish). July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  21. "Miss Valéria Péris casa-se em Campinas" [Miss Valéria Péris gets married in Campinas]. Revista CARAS (in Brazilian Portuguese). August 20, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  22. Hull, Kareem-Nelson (2018). The Virgin Islands Dictionary: A Collection of Words and Phrases so You Could Say It Like We. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. ISBN   9781546226109.
  23. "People & places". Herald-Journal. May 6, 1994. pp. A2. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Google News Archive.
  24. Gonzalez, Daniela (March 2, 2023). "Carolina Gómez: Así se veía la mujer cuando fue señorita en Miss Universo" [Carolina Gómez: This is what the woman looked like when she was a miss in Miss Universe]. Revista ALO (in Spanish). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  25. "'Not even a little picture of me in the papers'". The Straits Times. May 21, 1994. p. 6. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via National Library Board.
  26. "Habla la ex Miss Costa Rica que acusa al ex presidente Óscar Arias de abuso sexual" [The former Miss Costa Rica speaks who accuses former president Óscar Arias of sexual abuse]. El Comercio (in Spanish). February 10, 2019. ISSN   1605-3052 . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  27. "Jasmin Clifton wint sobere miss-verkiezing" [Jasmin Clifton wins sober miss pageant]. Amigoe (in Dutch). October 18, 1993. p. 3. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Delpher.
  28. 1 2 Caparas, Celso de Guzman (May 30, 2004). "My fond memories of the 1994 Miss Universe Pageant". Philippine Star . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  29. "Así recordó Gabriela Pazmiño su participación en Miss Ecuador" [This is how Gabriela Pazmiño remembered her participation in Miss Ecuador]. Metro Ecuador (in Spanish). October 7, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  30. 1 2 3 Lo, Ricky (January 31, 2017). "And the winner is… Steve Harvey!". Philippine Star . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  31. 1 2 Monge, Osmín (January 27, 2023). "Eleonora Carrillo recordó su clasificación en Miss Universo" [Eleonora Carrillo recalled her classification in Miss Universe 1995]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  32. Veidemann-Makko, Anna-Maria (May 23, 2023). "Sõnasõda: Kibe kõõm ja maakast rasvarull?! Miss Estonia Eva Maria Laan kohtusaagast ekskaasaga: "Olen aastaid kestnud kannatamisest juba tuimaks muutunud!"" [War of words: Bitter scabbing and early fat roll?! Miss Estonia Eva Maria Laan from the legal saga with her ex-husband: "I have already become numb from years of suffering!"]. Õhtuleht (in Estonian). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  33. Pudas, Mari (May 7, 2020). "Vuonna 1994 missiltä kuultiin toinenkin sammakko – voittajalta lipsahti härski toivotus suorassa lähetyksessä" [In 1994, another frog was heard from the pageant - the winner missed a rude greeting during the live broadcast]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  34. Mathieu, Clement (December 16, 2022). "Miss France 1994 : Valérie Claisse, la vocation d'une reine de beauté" [Miss France 1994: Valérie Claisse, the vocation of a beauty queen]. Paris Match (in French). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  35. "Did you know Sushmita Sen's gown for Miss India was made out of curtain cloth?". The Times of India. August 6, 2018. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  36. Yap, Peter (January 26, 1994). "Moment of glory for new Miss Malaysia". New Straits Times. p. 6. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Google Books.
  37. Lo, Ricky (June 29, 2010). "Miss Mauritius: I'm also a victim". Philippine Star . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  38. "Irene de mooiste van Nederland" [Irene the most beautiful in the Netherlands]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). March 30, 1994. p. 1. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Delpher.
  39. De la Torre, Ferdie (March 29, 1994). "Tomokane off to RP in May for Miss Universe". Marianas Variety. p. 3. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via eVols.
  40. Stave, Amanda (June 24, 2023). "(+) Ein sykkylving i kulissene: – Eg har levd litt i mi eiga verd". Nyss.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  41. Villano, Alexa (March 17, 2018). "12 Bb Pilipinas titleholders who entered showbiz". Rappler . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  42. Lopez, Ana Enid (March 17, 2016). "Brenda Robles aclara el escándalo de su reinado" [Brenda Robles clarifies the scandal of her reign]. Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  43. "Rojak helped Paulyn win title". The Straits Times. March 22, 1994. p. 26. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via National Library Board.
  44. "15 ดาราสาวเคยประกวดนางงาม ความสวยเจิดจรัสจนคว้ามงมาครองสำเร็จ" [15 actresses who have competed in beauty contests and were so beautiful that they successfully won the crown.]. Sanook (in Thai). August 9, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  45. Lemieux, Josh (February 12, 1994). "S.C.'s Parker crowned Miss USA". Anderson Independent-Mail. p. 2. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  46. "Zimbabwe returns to Miss Universe pageant". The Herald. May 10, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023 via PressReader.
  47. https://iberoeconomia.es/emprendedores/eleonora-carrillo-la-miss-salvador-imparte-justicia-espana/ Eleonora Carrillo, la Miss El Salvador que imparte justicia en España
  48. http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php Archived February 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine ? t=325916&page=147 [ bare URL ]
  49. "Miss Indonesia to watch but not take part". Straits Times. May 19, 1994.

General references