Miss World 1978 was the 28th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom on 16 November 1978.
At the conclusion of the event, Mary Stävin of Sweden crowned Silvana Suárez of Argentina as the new Miss World, this was the second time Argentina has won Miss World.
Contestants from sixty-eight countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Paul Burnett and Sascha Distel. Distel also performed in this year's pageant.
Background
Selection of participants Contestants from sixty-eight countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two candidates were appointed to their position to replace the original dethroned winner.
Replacements Silvana Suárez, the first runner-up of Miss Argentina 1978, was appointed to represent her country at Miss World after the original winner, Margarita Susana Heindrycks, was disqualified for being underage. Pascale Taurua was originally crowned Miss France 1978 and was to compete internationally. However, she decided to return to homeland rather than taking the title, and the title was given to Brigitte Konjovic, the first runner-up. Due to personal reasons, Konjovic was dethroned as Miss France, and the title of Miss France 1978 was given to the second runner-up Kelly Hoarau.
Malek Nemlaghi of Tunisia was initially disqualified after refusing to remove her yashmak and wear boxer shorts for the official photo-call. However, she was reinstated back into the competition after she agreed to remove her yashmak at the dress rehearsal.
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals The 1978 edition saw the debuts of Dominica and Saint Vincent and the return of India, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Swaziland, Tunisia, and the Virgin Islands. Nigeria, which last competed in 1970, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines, Swaziland, and Tunisia last competed in 1975, While, Italy, Jamaica, Singapore and the United States Virgin Islands last competed in 1976.
Bolivia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa withdrew in this edition. Angelyn Tukana of Papua New Guinea withdrew due to lack of funding. Yolanda Kloppers of South Africa did not compete after the Miss World Organization decided to ban the country from competing due to its apartheid policy.
Results Placements Placement Contestant Miss World 1978 – Silvana Suárez 1st runner-up – Ossie Carlsson 2nd runner-up – Denise Ellen Coward 3rd runner-up – Martha Eugenia Ortíz 4th runner-up – Gloria Valenciano Top 7 – Jeanette Keller – Ann Jones Top 15 – Doris Anwander – Maribel Guardia – Eija Laaksonen – Kalpana Iyer – María Jesús Cañizares – Manohori Vanigasooriya – Debra Jean Freeze – Patricia Tóffoli
Special awards AwardWinnerMiss Photogenic Mexico – Martha Eugenia OrtízMiss Talent Philippines – Louvette Hammond
Contestants Sixty-eight contestants competed for the tile. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Argentina Silvana Suárez 20 Córdoba Aruba Rose-Anne Lejuez 18 Oranjestad Australia Denise Coward 23 Parkdale Austria Doris Anwander 18 Bregenz Bahamas Donna Marie McCook 23 Nassau Belgium Françoise Moens 18 Brussels Bermuda Madeline Francine Joell 19 Smith's Parish Brazil Laura Angélica Viana Pereira 20 Salvador Canada Brigitte June Hofmann 18 Hamilton Cayman Islands Wendy Lorraine Daykin 18 George Town Chile Trinidad Sepúlveda 22 Santiago Colombia Denise de Castro Santiago 19 Barranquilla Costa Rica Maribel Guardia 19 San José Curaçao Silvana Angely Trinidad 21 Willemstad Cyprus Mary Adamou 19 Nicosia Denmark Birgit Stefansen 21 Struer Dominica Mona Jno-Lewis 19 Roseau Dominican Republic Jenny Polanco 20 Puerto Plata Ecuador Antonieta Campódonico 18 Guayaquil El Salvador Iris Mazorra 18 San Salvador Finland Eija Laaksonen 22 Tampere France Kelly Hoarau 18 Le Port French Polynesia Moeata Schmouker 18 Puna'auia Gibraltar Rosanna Bonfante 17 Gibraltar Greece Ariana Dimitropoulou 23 Athens Guam Elizabeth Clara Tenorio 22 Asan Holland Ans van Haaster 22 Amsterdam Honduras María Elena Bobadilla 21 San Pedro Sula Hong Kong Faustina Lin 22 Hong Kong Island Iceland Ásdís Loftsdóttir 20 Vestmannaeyjar India Kalpana Iyer 22 Amroha Ireland Lorraine O'Connor 24 Cork Carole Ann Kneale 20 Douglas Israel Sari Alon 19 Tiberias Italy Loren Cristina Mai 17 Mantua Jamaica Joan McDonald 22 Kingston Japan Yuko Yamaguchi 21 Tokyo Chantal Gosselin 21 Saint Helier Malaysia Kartina Osir 22 Sandakan Malta Mary Cumbo 18 Birkirkara Mauritius Genevieve Chanea 19 Curepipe Mexico Martha Eugenia Ortíz 18 Mexico City New Zealand Lorian Tangney 20 Hamilton Nigeria Irene Omagbemi 20 Lagos Norway Elisabet Klaeboe 17 Oslo Paraguay Susana Galli 19 Asunción Peru Karen Noeth 18 Lima Philippines Louvette Monzon Hammond 17 Quezon City Puerto Rico María Jesús Cañizares 21 San Juan Saint Vincent June de Nobriga 23 Kingstown Singapore Rosie Tan 21 Singapore South KoreaJe Eun-jin19Seoul Spain Gloria Valenciano 23 Tenerife Sri Lanka Manohori Vanigasooriya 20 Colombo Swaziland Nyamalele Nilovu 21 Mbabane Sweden Ossie Carlsson 21 Stockholm Switzerland Jeannette Keller 20 Zürich Thailand Orasa Panichapan 20 Bangkok Trinidad and Tobago Kathleen Thomas 21 Port of Spain Tunisia Malek Nemlaghi 19 Tunis Turkey Sevil Özgültekin 18 Istanbul United Kingdom Elizabeth Ann Jones 20 Welshpool United States Debra Jean Freeze 20 Mooresville United States Virgin Islands Enid Francis 18 Saint Croix Uruguay Mabel Rúa 21 Montevideo Venezuela Patricia Tóffoli 18 Coro West Germany Monika Greis 23 Heidelberg Western Samoa Rosalina Sapolu 23 Apia
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