12/02
- MISS CHINA AT THE TOP OF THE GLOBE
SANYA, China (AFP) - Pre-contest favourite Miss China won the Miss World 2007 title in her own country late Saturday, much to the delight of the audience, in front of an estimated two billion viewers around the globe.
Twenty-three-year-old Zhang Zilin was crowned the winner in Sanya, China. Miss Angola came second and Miss Mexico third at the beauty pageant, held on the southern holiday island of Hainan, dubbed China's answer to Hawaii.
Viewers in 200 countries were expected to tune in to watch the show, which saw Miss China take the crown ahead of 105 of the world's most beautiful and talented women.
The audience in the 2,000-capacity Beauty Crown Theatre, specially built for when Sanya first hosted the event in 2003, roared in delight as Zhang was crowned the winner at the end of the two-hour-long contest, which was conducted mainly in English.
The secretary from Beijing was the pre-contest favourite with British bookmakers, along with Miss Dominican Republic.
At 182 centimetres (six feet), Zhang was also the tallest contestant.
"There are 1.3 billion people behind me," she said during the interview stage of the contest, referring to China's population.
"If I win I want to become a link between the Olympic Games (in Beijing next year) and the Miss World Organisation."
"I want to use the power and beauty of Miss World to support those in need," she said, speaking throughout in hesitant English, adding a few words in Chinese.
Zhang earlier told the contest her favourite pasttimes were the 100-metre hurdles and the high jump.
Fireworks exploded above the crown-shaped theatre, where visitors had paid up to 300 dollars for tickets, after the popular decision was made.
Miss Mexico had also been strongly fancied, while Miss Angola was an outsider.
"I want to tell you that I am a strong woman and also a dreamer girl and I don't accept failures in my life," Carolina Moran Gordillo, Miss Mexico, said earlier in the contest.
"This is my dream and I worked very very hard to get here," the 19-year-old student added.
Portuguese-born Miss Angola, Micaela Reis, 18, said she wanted to win the coveted crown so she could spread awareness about AIDS/HIV.
Contestants were rated on an array of disciplines including physical fitness, style, dress, personality and beauty.
The 106 were whittled down to 16, then five, with hotly tipped Miss Dominican Republic not making the final five despite strong support from the mainly Chinese crowd.
The 57th edition of the contest was being held on World AIDS Day as organisers wanted the annual showcase of gloss and glitz, seen by critics as a sexist throwback, to help increase awareness of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
To underline their commitment to AIDS awareness, organisers invited former South African president Nelson Mandela's eldest daughter Maki to serve on the panel of nine judges.
The Noble laureate's son Makgatho died of an AIDS-related illness in 2005, and the family has since been active in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
As well as being held on World AIDS Day, Miss World 2007 came a week after Chinese state media reported hotels in Beijing have been ordered to stock condoms in every room in response to a spike in new HIV infections in the capital.
12/01
- CHINA PR IS THE NEW MISS WORLD!
In
a show that was everything but surprising, Miss
China PR (Zi Lin Zhang) was crowned
Miss World 2007 during the
57th version of the annual event at the Beauty
Crown theater in Sanya. Miss China ended
up as the big favorite among bookmakers and
also won the Global
Beauties' Royal Flush of Beauty,
marking the second year GB accurately predicts
the winner (last year, Czech Republic's Tatana
Kucharova won the Thermometer).
The 1st
runner-up was Miss Angola (Micaela Reis), overlooked
during the fast-track events but not by GB judges
and fans who admired her beauty. Well deserved
position.
The 2nd
runner-up was Miss Mexico (Carolina Moran),
very well prepared, competitive and stunning.
The remaining
finalists were Miss Sweden (Annie Oliv) and
Miss Trinidad & Tobago (Valene Maharaj),
stunning beauties.
The surprises
of the night were the non-inclusion of Miss
Dominican Republic among the Top 5. She had
been a huge favorite throughtout the competition;
and Miss Lithuania's failure to enter the Top
16 finalists.
This victory
marks China's first major international beauty
title.
12/01
- Who will be Miss World 2007?
It is always a very difficult question to answer, once although several favorites have blossomed during a whole month of intensive competition, the judges' final choices can always be surprising, and girls who were quiet and reserved until the final days of competition, suddenly shine like never before and end up in higher rankings than the so-called favorites.
In any case,
here is GB analysis of the World's 'Class of
2007', in a brief summary of the 42 delegates
we believe have a higher chance to succeed tonight:
THE BIG FAVORITES
China, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Lithuania, Mexico and USA
These 6 ladies have been very consistent all month long. Miss China is possibly her country's most beautiful and well-prepared delegate in history. After 4 Miss World editions held in Sanya and with the Olympic Games in Beijing coming up soon, she seems to be a very strong possibility for the crown.
Miss Dominican Republic is the other heavy press favorite. This Caribbean beauty looks fabulous in photos, in person, on stage. She is quite impressive and many believe the Miss World crown belongs to her.
Miss Jamaica has made it to all fast-track lists of finalists. Jamaica tends to do well in Miss World, and this girl is energetic, sexy, and quite stunning.
Lithuania has never placed in any Grand Slam beauty contest. It has never been so close to a great result as now, and many believe she can pull it tonight.
Miss Mexico resembles former Miss Universe Amelia Vega in many ways. She has the so-called "va-va-voom", in other words, she can be a hurricane on stage!
Miss USA is a classical beauty who needs no make-up to look absolutely stunning. She possibly has the most beautiful face in the competition.
THE
VERY STRONG POSSIBILITIES
Angola,
Austria, Brazil, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Greece,
Grenada, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Russia, South
Africa, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela
and Slovakia.
Although
not the major favorites among bookmakers and
pageant observers, this is a very stunning group
of candidates, all perfectly able to reach the
finals and even to win the crown.
Angola
did superbly well in Miss Universe, but it's
a whole new game in Sanya, and many people wonder
how far she will go this time; Austria
hasn't done anything significant in Miss World
since 1988, and this blonde stunner could easily
revert this uncomfortable situation; Brazil
is ready for the job, she is confident, well-prepared,
and has impressed many people in yesterday's
dress rehearsal; Ecuador not
only has a very impressive social project, but
she is also beautiful and elegant, and has often
been compared to former Miss Universe Cecilia
Bolocco; Ethiopia is very tall,
exotic and beautiful, one of Africa's top contenders;
Greece looks like a Greek goddess,
stunning; Grenada is well-accomplished,
naturally gorgeous and well-prepared by former
Miss World Jennifer Hosten of Grenada; Malaysia
is beautiful, elegant and very bright, there's
much expectation towards her; Puerto
Rico is well-polished and a radiant
Caribbean beauty with a strong lobby, some believe
she will be the next Miss World; Russia
is a blonde bombshell who failed in Miss Universe
and is now looking for much more here; South
Africa, who looks way better in person
than in photos, is also very poised and bright;
Spain,
another natural stunner; Trinidad &
Tobago, who has a high chance to be
included among the semifinalists or even the
finalists with her amazing and exotic beauty
and charm; Slovakia, a pleasant
surprise who has all it takes to go further
in the competition than many expect her to;
and finally the always favorite Venezuela,
who is well-prepared, calm and collected.
THE
(NOT SO) LONG SHOTS
Albania,
Belgium, Canada, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Northern Ireland,
Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Scotland,
Nigeria, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and
Zimbabwe.
These are
women who could perfectly pull a surprise, we
can expect at least a couple of beauties from
this group to be called among the semi-finalists
(Ghana is already in after winning the talent
competition).
Keep an
eye on energetic Albania and Israel, regal Canada,
sexy Belgium, Mongolia, Turkey, Poland and Norway
(WOW!), the stunning dolls from Northern Ireland
and Ukraine, poised Philippines, and the very
chic Miss Zimbabwe.
As for the
others, many of them could also pull a surprise,
since it's a very competitive group and only
the judges had the opportunity to speak to them
face-to-face and capture the real essence of
each competitor's beauty and soul.
Global Beauties
wishes all countries participating at Miss World
2007 the best of luck tonight!
(photos,
form top to bottom: China and Dominican Republic;
Lithuania; USA)
12/01
- Dress Rehearsal shows that a stunning show can be expected for tonight's competition
Friday's nigh dress rehearsal was an appetizer for what we can expect tonight: a stunning show, with exciting musical numbers, a very special message, and 106 stunning international beauty performing as Miss World's new format is showcased to the whole planet. It will all culminate with the crowning of the 57th Miss World.
The show will be hosted once again by the great Chinese presenter Angela Chow and by Fernando Allende, a TV personality from Puerto Rico, who occasionally will add some Latin flavor to the show by saying some worlds in Spanish.
The opening number consists of a performance by a Chinese dance company. The candidates then enter the stage in swimwear, dancing to Miss World's opening theme. After that, they are all introduced wearing evening gowns. The best evening gown creation is then announced.
The five fast-track winners are called on stage, first the already known winners - Dominican Republic (Beach Beauty), China (Top Model), USA (Sports) and Ghana (Talent), and then videos showing the top 5 social projects are displayed (Hong Kong, Ecuador, Jamaica, Indonesia and Sweden - photo, below). The 5th fast-track winner (Beauty With a Purpose) is then announced.
Following that we will get to meet the other 10 semi-finalists, all picked by the judging panel during the preliminary interviews. After each of the semi-finalists is announced, a video with the delegate introducing herself will appear.
Then the judges will choose five finalists, who will each have 40 seconds to convene them why she should be the next Miss World.
Finally, Julia Morley announces who the two runner-ups and the winner are.
For rehearsals' purpose only, the winner was Miss New Zealand, with Miss Wales as 1st runner-up and Miss Uganda in the 3rd position (photo, right).
The continental queens of beauty will no longer be announced during the show, and popular voting is now history.
There will be a message from Nelson Mandela concerning the HIV alarming situation in Africa and other regions of the world and a performance by an African group which left its village in South Africa for the first time ever for this very special occasion. The girls will sing along with them in a beautiful number right before the announcement of the winners.
See exclusive photos from the dress rehearsal HERE.
12/01
- The Ukraine to host Miss World 2008
It's been confirmed by Miss World organizers: Miss World 2008 will take place in beautiful Ukraine. The contestants will tour the whole country and the final event will take place in Kiev, the capital city.
The World looks forward to it!
12/01
- More candid shots from Sanya!
Angola |
Belarus |
Costa Rica |
Kazakhstan |
Lithuania |
South Africa |
Slovakia |
Jennifer Hosten, Miss World 1970 |
|
11/30
- As the pageant approaches, fans and experts work on their
lists
As the Bookmakers
close their bets and prepare for the final results,
the Pageant Cafe chat room
(a group of pageant aficionados) has voted on
their 'Sweet 16' favorites. (Note: This list
is different from GB's Royal Flush) Meet
them here
11/29
- Ready for the Big Final
Dominican Republic |
Cyprus and Canada |
Puerto Rico |
The 106 Miss World contestants have been rehearsing
intensively for tomorrow's big final event.
During occasional breaks, the beauties take
a chance to relax and pose for the lenses of
international media covering the pageant. The
preliminary interviews took place on the 28,
and the group of 15 semi-finalists has already
been selected. Tonight's dress reharsals will
give the world a glimpse of what we can expect
at the Grand Finale. GB
Photos
Trinidad & Tobago |
Singapore |
|
11/23
- Finalists of "Beauty with a Purpose"
Award announced
The Beauty
with a Purpose Award is one of five fast-track
events that automatically qualify the winning
contestant to the Top 15 semifinals. The
recipient of this award is that delegate whose
charity project has created the most impact
within the judges, fellow contestants and society
in general. During the Red Cross Ball
in Beijing, Miss World Chairman Julia Morley
announced the five finalists that will compete
for this humanitarian award:
•
Miss Hong Kong China, Ka Yi Cheung:
Helps old people and regularly works at retirement
homes. She also has strong ties with UNICEF.
•
Miss Ecuador, Valeska Saab: Helps
people with a terrible generic skin condition
called Itchiosis.
•
Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillips:
Helped people recover from a hurricane which
hit the island by organising a fashion show
and music event.
•
Miss Indonesia, Kamidia Radisti:
Helps less fortunate children with home schooling,
free medical services for babies and young children.
•
Miss Sweden, Annie Oliv: Has
for the last two years worked with a disabled
person who has always been in a wheelchair and
unable to do anything for herself.
Our respect
and congratulations to this five accomplished
young ladies! May the best project win. The
winner of this award will be announced during
the 57th Miss World finals on December 1st.
11/23
- Charity Gala
See
videos of the Charity Red Cross Ball held in
Beijing (Introductions in Gowns and Regional
Costumes)
-
Red
Cross Ball (Part 1)
-
Red
Cross Ball (Part 2)
-
Red
Cross Ball (Part 3)
11/21
- Great Girls @ the Great Wall of China - The
106 Miss World beauty contestants visited earlier
today the Badaling section of the Great Wall
on the outskirts of Beijing November 21, 2007.
They sang, took pictures, and of corse enjoyed
the views of one of the modern world's "7
Wonders".
contestants visit the Great Wall of China.
|
British beauties: England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland. |
Paraguay, Panama and Peru. |
Sweden and South Africa. |
11/20
- Light the Passion - 106
Misses 'light the passion' for the Olympic Games
A
total of 106 Misses from over 100 countries
and regions gathered in Beijing Monday to take
part in the production of a music recording
and video for an English Olympic song.
The
English version of the song, "Light the Passion
Share the Dream", composed by a renowned musican
Chris Babida, will follow the same style as
the Chinese version, which debuted on April
26 at the unveiling of the planned Olympic Torch
Relay route, to provide warm feeling and light
the passion for the audience.
The
beauties were divided into several groups to
take turns for the recroding and the MV production.
During the break, they also had the chance to
taste the Chinese dumplings.
"I have been so excited to be in Beijing ...
We have been in the recording studio all morning,
trying to get this song done. And there's been
work but it's kind of fun." Miss America said,
adding that being associated with the Olympics
is incredible and once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Miss Nigeria said, "It is an honor for me as
a contestant of the Miss World Pageant and a
citizen of Nigeria to be a part of this memorable,
prestigious event of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
And I am very happy to be here and I wish everybody
who takes part in this Olympics good luck, and
best wishes from Nigeria."
The recording and the MV will be ready at the
end of this month and will be performed for
the first time early December at the final of
the 57th Miss World Pageant in Sanya, Hainan.
The beauties were invited by the Office for
the Campaign to Solicit Songs for Beijing 2008
Olympic Games, the Press Commission of the Chinese
Olympic Committee, and Zhengzhou Synear Food
Joint-Stock Co., Ltd -- the Frozen Dumplings
Exclusive Supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will start
in nearly four months, as the Olympic Flame
will be lit in Olympia, Greece according to
tradition on March 25, 2008. The Beijing 2008
Olympic Torch Relay will traverse the longest
distance, cover the greatest area and include
the largest number of people.
Find
out more about it at Miss World's OFFICIAL
WEBSITE
WATCH
THE VIDEO
Source: Xinhua/BOCOG
11/20
- Welcome to Beijing - THE 106 contestants
in the running for this year's Miss World title
have arrived in Beijing for the last leg of
their charity tour of China.
All
the contestants were given a warm welcome in
Chang'an Hotel yesterday, a famous five star
hotel in Beijing.
During
their four-day stay in Beijing, they will see
the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven and other
sights. They will also go shopping with local
people.
On
Friday evening, the contestants will participate
in a fund-raising banquet for disabled and orphaned
children at the Great Hall of the People.
But
the best is yet to come, with the final competition
and the award ceremony to be held early next
month in Sanya of the southern island province
of Hainan.
photo:
Brazil and Australia hold the Olympic Torch.
Kazakhstan and Lithuania |
Puerto Rico |
11/17
- Hainan Carnival Parade - It was a
day of fun and interaction with the people of
Sanya, as the 106 Miss World delegates and Tatana
Kucharova, Miss World 2006, participated in
the colorful Hainan Carnival Parade.
They
all had a chance to mingle with locals, playing
games and being part of the local traditions,
and experiencing some of the island's rich culture.
Contestants
were photographed and took many pictures as
well. After all the parade's fun, they will
now get ready to fly to Beijing, China's capital,
where the talent fast-track event will take
place and a third Miss World semi-finalist will
be picked.
Good
luck girls!
11/14
- Beautiful and fit - 25-year old Abby
McCary of the United States
has won the Miss World Sport award,
the second of five fast-track events of Miss
World 2007. After a fierce competition
held at the Holiday Inn Sanya on Wednesday morning,
Miss United States automatically qualifyied
as one of MW's Top 15 finalists.
Runner-ups
were the representatives of Scotland, Sweden
and Wales.
The
next fast-track event will be the Miss Talent
competition, which will take place in Shanghai.
Congratulations
to Miss United States!!
11/13
- New Ace of Hearts - The lovely Jurgita
Jurkute, Miss Lithuania, has been grabbing more
and more attention since the moment she stepped
on the island of Hainan. She is now GB's experts
#1 pick for the crown (at lest for the moment!).
Check out our UPDATED
LIST.
11/12
- Talent audition - All Miss World
contestants who wanted to try their luck displaying
their talent abilities, got a chance to do so
last Sunday. Over 70 beauties participated,
and a preliminary talent panel of judges picked
20 finalists. They will participate in the Miss
Talent fast-track event, in Shanghai. The eventual
talent winner will automatically advance to
Miss World's semi-finals.
The
list of 20 talent finalists has not been released
yet.
11/10
- Beach Beauty contest: Miss Dominican Republic
is the first MW07 semi-finalist
Things
couldn't have been better for Aida de la Cruz,
Miss Dominican Republic, in the first week of
Miss World competition: she is the favorite
in most betting agencies, the "ace of hearts"
(or number 1 favorite) in GB's "The Royal
Flush", and just a few hours ago she was
named Beach Beauty 2007, the winner of the first
of five fast-track events.
Winning
the swimsuit competition put Miss Dominican
Republic through to the semi-finals in one of
Miss World's most competitive years in recent
times.
Miss
Jamaica, Yendi Phillips, was the 1st runner-up,
while Miss China, Zi Lin Zhang, was the second
runner-up. Misses Lithuania and Mexico rounded
out the "top 5".
The
other 16 semi-finalists (21 in total due to
a tie for 20th place) came from Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, Ethiopia, Grenada, Italy, Japan, Korea,
Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Some
of the early favorites, such as Puerto Rico,
Angola and the United States, did not make the
cut. Candidates from Belgium, Ethiopia, Korea,
Mongolia and Ukraine, started being noticed.
This
is only the first of five fast-track events.
Winners of talent, sports, Beauty with a Purpose,
a modeling qualifying contests, will also advance
to the semi-finals. Other 10 candidates will
be selected by Miss World's panel of judges
after their preliminary interviews, in choices
based on beauty, charm and intelligence.
The
15 semi-finalists will fight for the Miss World
crown on December 1. The event will be telecast
to over 150 countries and will be watched by
some 2 billion people.
Photos
courtesy of tianya.cn
11/09
- Miss World 2007 Welcome Dinner
The
2007 Miss World's Welcome Dinner took place
last night at the Crowne Plaza, in Sanya, China.
The 107 beauties were saluted by local authorities
and paraded in evening gowns to be introduced
to the people of China and the world.
You
can see a video of their presentation by CLICKING
HERE.
11/07
- Miss World 2007 Panel of Judges
A distinguished
panel of judges will have the opportunity to
select this year's Miss World
titleholder. They will also select 10
of the 15 finalists. They are:
-
Nancy Dell'Olio: Italian
property laywer, ex-girlfriend of former England
national football team coach Sven-Göran
Eriksson.
-
Martin Kemp: British
actor and former singer of Spandau Ballet
-
Duncan James: British
TV presenter and former member of boy band Blue
-
Ben de Lisi: London-based
fashion designer and mentor of the contestants
in "Project Catwalk (UK's version of Project
Runway)".
-
Annabel Croft: British former tennis
player and TV presenter.
- Wilnelia
Forsyth: Former Miss World 1975 from
Puerto Rico, designer of Miss World's swimwear
and wife of British celebrity Bruce Forsyth.
-
Julia Morley: President of the Miss
World Organisation and Chairman of the Judges
Miss World
will be shown on Challenge on December 1 at
7pm.
11/05
- Virgin Media’s Challenge Inks U.K. Deal
for Miss World Competition
LONDON,
November 1: Virgin Media Television’s
light-entertainment channel Challenge
has inked a deal with Zeal Entertainment, on
behalf of the Miss World Organization, for the
exclusive U.K. broadcast rights to the live
Miss World 2007 competition
final in December.
This marks
the second consecutive year that Challenge will
have aired the live two-hour Miss World final,
which will be held on December 1 this year in
Sanya, located in China’s Hainan Province.
With global viewing figures of nearly two billion,
Miss World is the largest live annual TV event,
broadcast to nearly 200 countries. The Miss
World 2006 final on Challenge attracted a third
more 16- to 34-year-olds than the channel average
and was up more than 141 percent on the slot
average.
During the
57th edition of Miss World this year, contestants
from more than 100 countries will embark on
a four-week tour of China, which will include
visits to the Olympic city of Beijing and the
Great Wall of China. Charity fundraising will
be a key part of the tour under the “Beauty
with a Purpose” banner, which has seen
Miss World raise over £250 million for
good causes.
Celia Taylor,
the director of programs for Virgin 1, Bravo,
Bravo 2, Trouble and Challenge, said: “Miss
World is a total joy. It’s a fantastic
enduring brand that adds real glitz and glamour
to Challenge’s winter schedule and is
an indulgent treat for everyone.”
11/02
- Tianya Club launches Official Miss World Site
Community
website Tianya Club (www.tianya.cn) signed with
Miss World 2007 on November 1 to create an official
Chinese site for the 2007 Miss World Competition,
reports hainan.net. Tianya Club CEO Xing Ming
along with Sanya deputy mayor Li Baiqing and
a Miss World representative released the official
website at missworld.tianya.cn,
according to the report. Miss World 2007 is
being held in Sanya, China through December
1.
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