Miss World 1981, the 31st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 12 November 1981 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK.[1][2] The winner was Pilín León from Venezuela,[2][3] the first titleholder from her country since 1955. She was crowned by Miss World 1980, Kimberley Santos of Guam. Another Venezuelan, Irene Sáez, had been crowned Miss Universe 1981 in July, making Venezuela one of the few countries to hold both major international titles (Miss Universe and Miss World) in the same year. The Continental Queens of Beauty were awarded for the first time.

Miss World 1981
Miss World 1981 Titlecard
Date12 November 1981
PresentersPeter Marshall, Judith Chalmers
EntertainmentHelen Reddy
VenueRoyal Albert Hall, London, UK[1]
BroadcasterThames Television
Entrants67
Placements15
WithdrawalsMauritius, Panama, Paraguay, Swaziland, US Virgin Islands
ReturnsChile, El Salvador, Iceland, Suriname, Tahiti
WinnerPilín León
Venezuela
← 1980
1982 →

Results

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Placements

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Placement Contestant
Miss World 1981
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
Top 7
Top 15

Continental Queens of Beauty

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Continental Group Contestant
Africa
Americas
Asia
  •   Japan – Naomi Kishi
Europe
Oceania

Contestants

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Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss World 1981[1][3][4]

67 contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age[a] Hometown
  Argentina Helen Natali 21 Villa María
  Aruba Gerarda Roepel 24 Oranjestad
  Australia Melissa Hannan 19 Mosman
  Austria Beatrix Kopf 21 Lustenau
  Bahamas Monique Ferguson 18 Nassau
  Belgium Dominique van Eeckhoudt 19 Waterloo
  Bermuda Cymone Tucker 21 Smith's Parish
  Bolivia Carolina Díaz 17 Pando
  Brazil Maristela Grazzia 17 São Paulo
  Canada Earla Stewart 22 Pembroke
  Cayman Islands Donna Marie Myrie 20 George Town
  Chile Susanna Bravo 19 Santiago
  Colombia Nini Johanna Soto 18 Bucaramanga
  Costa Rica Sucetty Salas 18 San José
  Curaçao Mylene Gerard 21 Willemstad
  Cyprus Elena Andreou 19 Nicosia
  Denmark Tina Brandstrup 21 Copenhagen
  Dominican Republic Josefina Cuello 24 Santo Domingo
  Ecuador Lucía Vinueza 19 Guayaquil
  El Salvador Martha Alicia Ortíz 19 San Salvador
  Finland Pia Nieminen 20 Tampere
  France Isabelle Benard 19 Vernon
  Germany Barbara Reimund 18 Stuttgart
  Gibraltar Yvette Maria Bellido 18 Gibraltar
  Greece Maria Argyrokastritou 22 Athens
  Guam Rebecca Arroyo 21 Mangilao
  Guatemala Beatriz Bojorquez 23 Guatemala City
  Holland Saskia Lemmers 23 Amsterdam
  Honduras Xiomara Sikaffy 20 San Pedro Sula
  Hong Kong Winnie Chin 18 Hong Kong Island
  Iceland Ásdís Hannesdóttir 23 Reykjavík
  India Deepti Divakar 22 Bengaluru
  Ireland Geraldine McGrory 22 Derry
  Isle of Man Nicola-Jane Grainger 18 Dalby
  Israel Ninnette Assor 22 Tel-Aviv
  Italy Marisa Tutone 17 Turin
  Jamaica Sandra Cunningham[4] 24 Kingston
  Japan Naomi Kishi 18 Kawasaki
  Jersey Elizabeth Walmsley 18 Saint Helier
  Korea Lee Han-na 19 Seoul
  Lebanon Zeina Challita 19 Beirut
  Lesotho Palesa Joyce Kalele[1] 18 Maseru
  Malaysia Cynthia de Castro 20 Malacca
  Malta Elizabeth-Mary Fenech 19 Żebbuġ
  Mexico Doris Pontvianne 18 Tampico
  New Zealand Raewyn Marcroft 18 Waikato
  Norway Anita Nesbø 20 Akershus
  Papua New Guinea Jennifer Abaijah 19 Port Moresby
  Peru Olga Zumarán 22 Lima
  Philippines Suzette Nicolas 24 Manila
  Puerto Rico Andrenira Ruíz 19 San Juan
  Singapore Sushil Kaur Sandhu 20 Singapore
  Spain Cristina Pérez Cottrell 18 Málaga
  Sri Lanka Sonya Elizabeth Tucker 20 Colombo
  Suriname Joan Boldewijn 18 Paramaribo
  Sweden Carita Gustafsson 20 Gothenburg
  Switzerland Margrit Kilchoer 22 Geneva
  Tahiti Maimiti Kinnander 20 Huahine
  Thailand Massupha Karbprapun 21 Bangkok
  Trinidad and Tobago Rachael Thomas 21 Diego Martin
  Turkey Aydan Şener 18 Kilis
  United Kingdom Michele Donnelly 20 Cardiff
  United States Lisa Moss 23 Shreveport
  Uruguay Marianela Bas 23 Montevideo
  Venezuela Pilin León[2][3] 18 Maracay
  Western Samoa Julianna Curry 17 Apia
  Zimbabwe Juliet Nyathi[1] 24 Bulawayo

Notes

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  1. ^ Ages at the time of the pageant

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ribane, N. (2006). Beauty: A Black Perspective. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-86914-087-8. The Miss World of 1981, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, only had three contestants from African countries: Zimbabwe, Lesotho and ...
  2. ^ a b c d "New Miss World". Rome News-Tribune. 13 November 1981. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Weeks, Sally (13 August 1986). "Venezuelan beauties undergo rigorous training to win international pageants". Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b Jamaica. W.I.L.I.P. series. W.W. Gaunt & Sons. 1987. p. 92. ISBN 9780245540240. They enthusiastically choose a Miss Jamaica Universe each May and a Miss Jamaica World each September And there are ... have been second runners-up in the Miss World finals — Debbie Campbell in 1979 and Sandra Cunningham in 1981.

Further reading

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