Last September 30, 2006, The Miss World Organization crowned its new queen, Tatana Kucharova, 18, from Czech Republic. Kucharova bested more than 100 ladies from all over the world. She is a model and student, and wished to pursue a career in media someday. She is the first from her country to win the Miss World title.
1st runner up is Ioana Boitor from Romania. Finishing in 3rd place is Sabrina Houssami from Australia.
The Continental Queens are :
Queen of Africa : Angola
Queen of the Americas : Brazil
Queen of Asia and the Pacific : Australia (2nd runner-up)
Queen of the Caribbean : Miss Jamaica
Queen of Northern Europe : Czech Republic (eventual winner)
Queen of Southern Europe : Romania (1st runner up)
This year's selection of semifinalists is based on public voting and judges' scores. The more than 100 participants were divided into 6 groups according to their continental zones. From each zone, 2 semifinalist were chosen, 1 as the public choice and the other as the judge's choice. 12 girls from 6 continental zones.
The winners are :
From the Asia-Pacific Group :
1. Miss Vietnam (public choice)
2. Due to the inability to break a tie, 2 semifinalists were chosen as judges' choice.
They are :
Natasha Suri - Miss India
and Sabrina Houssami - Miss Australia
From the Caribbean:
1. Miss Jamaica (Public choice)
2. Miss Puerto Rico (judges' choice)
From Northern Europe :
1. Czech Republic (Public Choice)
2. Miss Scotland (Judges' choice)
From Southern Europe :
1. Romania (Public Choice)
2. Lebanon (judges' choice)
From the Americas:
1. Mexico (Public Choice)
2. Brazil (Judges' Choice)
From Africa :
1. Namibia (Public Choice)
2. Angola (Judges' Choice)
In addition to the 13 continental semifinalists, 4 more girls were given the chance to enter the semifinals thru 4 fast track events namely : The Beach Beauty Competition, The Miss Talent Competition, The Sports fest and The Beauty with a Purpose Award.
Of these events, the beach beauty competition was held first. The more than 100 ladies gathered in front of the Grand Hotel to showcase the new design for Miss World swimwear line. 25 girls were chosen as semifinalists for the said sub-competition. Out of 25, the number was trimmed down to 10, then finally revealing the top 5.
The Top 5 were named as follows:
5th place : Singapore
4th place : Angola
3rd Place : India
2nd Place : Czech Republic
1st Place : Venezuela
As winner of the beachwear finals, Miss Venezuela, Alexandra Federica Guzman, earned a spot in the semifinals.
The next event was the Sports competition. The girls competed by group according to their continental zone. The overall winner of the event is the America's group. From each group, the best participants were chosen to compete for the Miss Sports title.
Miss Canada was proclaimed the fittest among all the candidates as she won the Miss Sports award. This earned her a spot in the semifinals.
With 2 lucky girls earning a spot each in the semifinals, the others are not to be left out as they showcased their unique talents during the Talent competition. Dressed in their native costumes and some in chic dresses, the girls wowed the crowd as they presented their special numbers. It was a night of songs, dances and even magic.
Of all the girls, Miss Northern Ireland was heralded the most talented. She performed a native song from her country.
The result of the talent competition was as follow:
3rd Place : Italy (gymnastics)
2nd Place : Zimbabwe ( traditional song)
1st Place : Northern Ireland (traditional song)
As winner of the talent event, Miss Northern Ireland was the 3rd girl to advance to the semifinals.
The last key to earn a semifinal slot is the Beauty with a purpose award. Unlike the 3 other fast track events, this award was given during the final's night. This award is given to the girl who used her beauty title to serve the needy and the less fortunate.
The surprise winner of the award is :
Miss Ghana. She was the 17th semifinalist.
Prior to the final's night, another special event was held. It was called the dress designer's awards night. The award is given to the girl who wore the most fashionable designer's dress.
Winning this special award is Miss Croatia. Though this did not earn her a semifinals' slot. This award is more for the dress designer rather than for the contestant.
Our bet this year is Miss Anna Maris Igpit. Though she did not make it to the semifinals. She did us proud as she was among the heavy favorites to win.
She was among the lucky 25 girls who were chosen to compete in the beachwear finals.
She performed a modernized T'boli dance number during the talent competition. Though she did not make it to the top 10.
With her sweet natural smile and unique malay features, she was among the best bets in the Asia Pacific region.
Classy and elegant. Anna poses in front of the camera for her "vote for me" video.
All in all, I could say that this year's event was a success. Through the years, the Miss World competition has continuously reinvented itself from a beauty contest to a charity event. It has encouraged more and more countries to join the competition each year. In fact, it is now the second most widely participated event in the world next to the olympics.
The winners are all deserving. They displayed not only physical beauty but also beauty as a person. A beautiful person with a good heart is what it takes to be a beauty queen. A true beauty queen does not only displays beauty in the outside but must also possess beauty in character as she also will serve as an ambassadress of goodwill to whatever purpose she may serve.
