Miss Universe 1994

Miss Universe 1994
Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994
Date	21 May 1994
Presenters	Bob Goen Arthel Neville Angela Visser
Entertainment	Peabo Bryson Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company Eraserheads
Venue	Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
Broadcaster	CBS (international) ABS-CBN (DWWX-TV) (official broadcaster)
Entrants	77
Placements	10
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 ^{[lower-alpha 1]} at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines. A grand total of seventy-seven contestants competed during this year.

Outgoing titleholder Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico crowned Sushmita Sen of India at the end 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 Sirisopha 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

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1994	India – Sushmita Sen
1st runner-up	Colombia – Carolina Gómez
2nd runner-up	Venezuela – Minorka Mercado
Top 6	Philippines – Charlene Gonzales   Slovakia – Silvia Lakatošová   United States – Lu Parker
Top 10	Greece – Rea Toutounzi   Italy – Arianna David   Switzerland – Patricia Fässler   Sweden – Domenique Forsberg

Special awards

Award	Winner
Best National Costume	Philippines - Charlene Gonzales
Miss Congeniality	Namibia - Barbara Kahatjipara
Miss Photogenic	Venezuela - Minorka Mercado

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

• Carlos Arturo Zapata - Colombian fashion designer ^[16]
• Florence LaRue - American Singer ^[16]
• Richard Dalton - Princess Diana's stylist and confidante ^[16]
• Beulah Quo - Chinese-American actress ^[16]
• Emilio T. Yap - Publisher and Business tycoon
• Stephanie Beacham - English actress ^[16]
• Jonas McCord - Chinese-Filipino business tycoon and philanthropist ^[16]
• Mona Grudt - Miss Universe 1990 from Norway ^[16]

Contestants

Miss Universe 1994 participating countries and territories

Seventy-seven contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age [lower-alpha 2]	Hometown
Argentina	Solange Magnano	22	Santa Fe
Aruba	Alexandra Ochoa [17]	18	Oranjestad
Australia	Michelle van Eimeren [18]	22	Brisbane
Bahamas	Meka Knowles	18	Nassau
Belgium	Christelle Roelandts [19]	19	Waremme
Bolivia	Cecilia O'Connor-d'Arlach [20]	23	La Paz
Brazil	Valéria Melo Peris [21]	23	Conchal
British Virgin Islands	Delia Jon Baptiste [22]	18	Road Town
Bulgaria	Nevena Marinova	20	Sofia
Canada	Susanne Rothfos [23]	18	Dawson Creek
Cayman Islands	Audrey Ebanks	20	Grand Cayman
Chile	Constanza Barbieri	18	Santiago
Colombia	Carolina Gómez [24]	19	Bogotá
Cook Islands	Leilani Brown [25]	18	Rarotonga
Costa Rica	Yasmin Camacho [26]	23	San José
Curaçao	Jasmin Clifton [27]	26	Willemstad
Cyprus	Maria Vasiliou	19	Nicosia
Denmark	Gitte Andersen [28]	25	Copenhagen
Dominican Republic	Vielka Valenzuela	21	Concepción de la Vega
Ecuador	Mafalda Arboleda [29]	18	Guayaquil
Egypt	Ghada El-Salem [30]	20	Cairo
El Salvador	Claudia Méndez [31]	22	San Salvador
Estonia	Eva-Maria Laan [32]	19	Tallinn
Finland	Henna Meriläinen [33]	19	Tohmajärvi
France	Valerie Claisse [34]	21	Saint-Nazaire
Germany	Tanja Wild	21	Baden-Württemberg
Great Britain	Michaela Pyke [30]	22	Kent
Greece	Rea Toutounzi	20	Athens
Guam	Christina Perez	20	Agana
Guatemala	Katya Schoenstedt	20	Guatemala City
Honduras	Jem Haylock	23	Guanaja
Hong Kong	Mok Hoi-Yan	24	Hong Kong
Hungary	Szilvia Forian	21	Karcag
Iceland	Svala Björk Arnardóttir	18	Reykjavík
India	Sushmita Sen [35]	18	New Delhi
Ireland	Pamela Flood	22	Dublin
Israel	Ravit Yarkoni	21	Givatayim
Italy	Arianna David	20	Rome
Jamaica	Angelie Martin	19	Saint James
Japan	Chiaki Kawahito	21	Tokyo
Luxembourg	Sandy Wagner	20	Luxembourg City
Malaysia	Liza Koh [36]	20	Kuala Lumpur
Malta	Paola Camilleri	19	Fleur-de-Lys
Mauritius	Viveka Babajee [37]	20	Port Louis
Mexico	Fabiola Pérez	18	Chihuahua
Namibia	Barbara Kahatjipara	21	Windhoek
Netherlands	Irene van der Laar [38]	25	Leiden
New Zealand	Nicola Brighty [30]	21	Auckland
Nigeria	Suzan Hart	18	Benue
Northern Mariana Islands	Elizabeth Tomokane [39]	21	Saipan
Norway	Caroline Saetre [40]	18	Møre og Romsdal
Panama	María Sofía Velásquez	23	Panama City
Paraguay	Liliana González	23	Asunción
Peru	Karina Calmet	24	La Molina
Philippines	Charlene Gonzales [41]	19	Quezon City
Poland	Joanna Brykczynska	21	Western Pomerania
Portugal	Mónica Pereira	20	Lisbon
Puerto Rico	Brenda Robles [42]	18	Isabela
Republic of China	Joanne Wu	25	Taipei
Romania	Mihaela Ciolacu	20	Bucharest
Russia	Inna Zobova	20	Khimki
Singapore	Paulyn Sun [43]	21	Singapore
Slovakia	Silvia Lakatošová	20	Bratislava
South Korea	Goong Sun-young	21	Seoul
Spain	Raquel Rodríguez	20	Córdoba
Sri Lanka	Nushara Pramali	19	Colombo
Swaziland	Nicola Smith	20	Mbabane
Sweden	Domenique Forsberg	25	Kiruna
Switzerland	Patricia Fässler	19	Zürich
Thailand	Areeya Chumsai	22	Bangkok
Trinidad and Tobago	Lorca Gatcliffe	24	Port of Spain
Turkey	Banu Usluer	19	Istanbul
Turks & Caicos	Eulease Walkin	23	Providenciales
United States	Lu Parker [44]	26	Charleston
Uruguay	Leonora Dibueno [28]	27	Montevideo
Venezuela	Minorka Mercado	22	Caracas
Zimbabwe	Yvette D'Almeida-Chakras [45]	22	Harare

Contestants Notes

Debuts

•   Russia - attended for the first time, after separating from Soviet Union. Inna Zobova was the winner of Miss Russia in 1993, which was the national pageant.
•   Slovakia attended for the first time, after separating from Czechoslovakia. Silvia Lakatošova was the winner of Miss Czech and Slovak Republic in 1993, which was the national pageant together with the Czech Republic.
•   Zimbabwe

Returns

Last competed in 1992:

•   Cook Islands
•   Egypt
•   Republic of China — Joanne Wu was allowed to wear Republic of China sash while she was off-staged. There were two sashes for her, one was written (Taiwan) R.O.C., and the other was written Republic of China as stated above.

Replacements

•   El Salvador - Eleonora Carrillo, Miss El Salvador 1994 couldn't take part due she was underage before February 1. ^[46] Her 1st—Runner up, Claudia Méndez was sent for the event, although Carrillo competed the following year at the Miss Universe 1995 finishing in the Top 10. ^[31]

Withdrawals

•   Austria — Bianca Engel
•   Belize
•   Czech Republic — the country's national pageant was held together with Slovakia for a special occasion after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
•   Ghana
•   Lebanon — Lara Badawi
•   Nicaragua — Karen Celebertti
•   Suriname
•   United States Virgin Islands — Jessalyn Pearsall ^[47]

Did not compete

•   Lithuania — Loreta Brusokaitė - withdrew due to unknown reasons, made a debut in Miss Universe 2012

Observations

•   Indonesia - Venna Melinda was not allowed to compete in the pageant because of her country's conservative Islamic prejudice towards the swimsuit competition, though she eventually traveled to Manila to watch the pageant instead. ^[48]

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. "Philippines to host Miss Universe pageant". Reuters. October 24, 1993.
3. "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. "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. "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. 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. 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. Lo, Ricky (January 31, 2017). "And the winner is… Steve Harvey!". Philippine Star . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
31. 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. Lemieux, Josh (February 12, 1994). "S.C.'s Parker crowned Miss USA". Anderson Independent-Mail. p. 2. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
45. "Zimbabwe returns to Miss Universe pageant". The Herald. May 10, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via PressReader.
46. https://iberoeconomia.es/emprendedores/eleonora-carrillo-la-miss-salvador-imparte-justicia-espana/ Eleonora Carrillo, la Miss El Salvador que imparte justicia en España
47. http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php? t=325916&page=147
48. "Miss Indonesia to watch but not take part". Straits Times. May 19, 1994.

General references

• "Miss Universe 1994". pageantopolis.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.

External links

• Miss Universe official website