Miss World 1975

Miss World 1975
Date	20 November 1975
Presenters	David Vine †
Venue	Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
Broadcaster	BBC
Entrants	67
Placements	15
Debuts	Curaçao El Salvador Haiti Saint Lucia Swaziland
Withdrawals	Botswana Ecuador Jamaica Madagascar Spain Zambia
Returns	Bolivia Cuba Iceland Luxembourg Mauritius Peru Seychelles Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Uruguay
Winner	Wilnelia Merced [1] [2] Puerto Rico
Congeniality	Maggie Siew Teen Sim (Singapore)
Photogenic	Vinah Thembi Mamba (Swaziland)
←  1974 1976  →

Miss World 1975 was the 25th edition of the Miss World pageant, held on 20 November 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. 67 contestants took part in the pageant won by Wilnelia Merced of Puerto Rico. ^{[1] [2]} She was crowned by Anneline Kriel of South Africa. Runner-up was Germany, Marina Langer, third place was Vicki Harris representing the United Kingdom, fourth place was Maricela Maxie Clark of Cuba, and Yugoslavia's Ladija Verkovska completed the top five.

Results

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss World 1975

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss World 1975	Puerto Rico – Wilnelia Merced [1] [2]
1st runner-up	West Germany – Marina Langner [3]
2nd runner-up	United Kingdom – Vicki Harris [3]
3rd runner-up	Cuba – Maricela Maxie Clark
4th runner-up	Yugoslavia – Lidija Velkovska
Top 7	Haiti – Joelle Apollon   Venezuela – María Conchita Alonso
Top 15	Australia – Anne Davidson   Finland – Leena Kaarina Vainio   India – Anjana Sood   Lebanon – Ramona Keram   Mauritius – Mariella Tse-Sik-Sun   Saint Lucia – Sophia St Omer   South Africa – Rhoda Rademeyer   Uruguay – Carmen Abal

Notes

Debuts

•   Curaçao
•   El Salvador
•   Haiti
•   St. Lucia
•   Swaziland

Returns

• Last competed in 1955:
  •   Cuba
• Last competed in 1965:
  •   Bolivia
  •   Uruguay
• Last competed in 1971:
  •   Trinidad and Tobago
• Last competed in 1973:
  •   Iceland
  •   Luxembourg
  •   Mauritius
  •   Peru
  •   Seychelles
  •   Turkey

Withdrawals

•   Spain – Olga Fernández Pérez promptly withdrew from the competition, after an announcement that Francisco Franco, the ruler of Spain, had died on the morning of the pageant date. Pageant organizers concerned that she had been too upset by Franco's death to appear in the finals.

Replacements

•   Italy – Anna Vitale was replaced by Vanna Bortolini, her first runner-up of the Miss Italy beauty pageant, because she decided to return home to take care of her ill mother.
•   South Africa – Rhoda Rademeyer was the second runner-up of Miss South Africa beauty pageant. The official titleholder of this pageant, Helga Vera Johns, was disqualified by the Miss World organizers when it was discovered that she came from Rhodesia. Her Rhodesian nationality apparently violated the pageant's rules. The first runner-up, Crystal Coopers, went to London, but her father would not allow her to compete there because it was discovered that Vera Johns was not going to be officially stripped of her title. This was the second time Helga Vera Johns was barred from competing in the Miss World contest and still to this day remains the only contestant to be barred at least twice from competing at Miss World. The first time was in 1972 when she tried to compete as Miss Rhodesia but was not allowed to compete due to her Rhodesian nationality. ^{[4] [5]}

References

1. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
2. Beaver County Times
3. The Evening Independent
4. Strack, Harry R. (1978). Sanctions: The Case of Rhodesia. Syracuse University Press. p. 233. ISBN   9780815621614.
5. Trethowan, Anthony (2008). Delta Scout: Ground Coverage Operator. 30° South Publishers. p. 149. ISBN   9781920143213.