Miss World Venezuela (Spanish: Miss Venezuela Mundo) is a Venezuelan beauty pageant operated by the Cisneros Group. Founded in 2000, it currently selects Venezuelan representatives to Miss World.[1][2][3] The current national director of Miss World Venezuela is Miss Universe 2013, Gabriela Isler.
The Miss Venezuela pageant was officially founded in 1952 by American airline Pan Am and businesswoman Gloria Sánchez, with the purpose of sending a Venezuelan representative to the Miss Universe pageant in Long Beach, California.[5][6] After a first interruption in 1954 during the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship, Pan Am ceded the rights to the contest in 1955 to Venezuelan journalist and musicologist, Reinaldo Espinoza Hernández.[7][8]
Hernández, despite the debut and triumph of Duijm in Miss World 1955, faced protests by the Venezuelan Catholic Church and feminist movements, which added the lack of interest by the press of the time.[10] In addition, a second interruption in 1959 caused by the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état, led to the sale of the contest to Edwin E. Acosta-Rubio, a Cuban-Venezuelan businessman in 1962.[11][12]
In 1981, Irene Sáez and Pilín León won both Miss Universe 1981 and Miss World 1981 competitions respectively; events that were added to the death of the president at the time, Ignacio Font Coll, brother-in-law of Edwin Acosta-Rubio.[17][18] Finally, in 1982, the Cisneros Group was placed at the helm of the beauty contest and the Miss Venezuela Organization was officially structured, being appointed Osmel Sousa (a long time-worker at the empress) as Coll's successor, taking the charge of president.[19]
In 1996, the beauty pageant founded the Mister Venezuela competition, as a request of the Miss World Organization.[24][25]
In 1999, the Miss World Organization also requested that the winner of Miss Venezuela, Martina Thorogood, represented the country at Miss World.[26][27] After her placement as 1st runner-up in Miss World 1999, the Miss Venezuela Organization founded Miss World Venezuela (Miss Venezuela Mundo) as an independent pageant to Miss Venezuela.[28][29]
Vanessa Cárdenas was crowned as the first Miss World Venezuela.[30] However, the pageant has been held at certain times. Initially, from 2000 to 2002, the competition was defined by having a larger number of preselected candidates would later participate in Miss Venezuela; then from 2013 to 2015, the candidates where from outside the Miss Venezuela competition, or in minor cases from previous editions, and from 2020 onward, the same candidates have competed in Miss Venezuela.[31][32]
In 2002, the pageant was held during the Miss Venezuela Beauty Gala (Gala de la Belleza), where Goizeder Azúa won the title; she was later crowned Miss International 2003.[33] In 2006, a special edition was held in which candidates from previous editions participated. In 2016 and 2017, representatives were designated.[34][35] In other cases, the winner of Miss World Venezuela has been chosen within Miss Venezuela, or even the Miss Venezuela winner herself has been the representative at Miss World, as in 2018 with Isabella Rodríguez.[36][37]
Under Osmel Sousa's leadership, Venezuela has won more Miss World titles than any other country, with six titles, along with India; placing the country first in the pageant ranking. The last Venezuelan to be crowned Miss World was Ivian Sarcos in 2011.[38][39]
On 6 February 2018, Osmel Sousa, announced his retirement as President of the Miss Venezuela Organization, after being in charge of the contest for more than 40 years, leaving the presidency vacant.[40]
There is an unofficial formula to determine the states and regions represented in Venezuela. The base number of contestants over the last decade has been 26–28, which can be increased or decreased by the contest management.
In some editions, the candidates have been identified with numbers, while in others they have represented entities of the country.
The state later inherited the Miss World Venezuela title after the original titleholder resigned indicated in italics
Venezuelan representation
Venezuela's international titleholders represented the following states during their Miss Venezuela competition (indicates year of international victory):
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