Miss Universe 1969 was the 18th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, on 19 July 1969.
At the conclusion of the event, Martha Vasconcellos of Brazil crowned Gloria Diaz of the Philippines as Miss Universe 1969. It was the first win by the Philippines at the pageant.
Contestants from sixty-one countries and territories competed in this edition. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker, while June Lockhart provided commentary throughout the competition.
Background Selection of participants Contestants from sixty-one countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One candidate was appointed to represent her country to replace the original dethroned winner.
Replacements Miss Malaysia 1969, Sabrina Loo, chose not to compete due to personal reasons and was replaced by her first runner-up, Rosemary Wan. However, following the announcement of the Far East Beauty Congress that Wan would be sent to Miami instead of Loo, Loo expressed her dissatisfaction and protested the decision. The congress stated that it was too late for Loo to change her mind, resulting in Wan representing Malaysia at Miss Universe.
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals This edition saw the return of Suriname which last competed in 1966. Miss Lebanon 1968, Lily Bissar, was disqualified for being underage. Haiti, Okinawa, South Africa, and the United States Virgin Islands withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 1969 – Gloria Diaz 1st Runner-Up – Harriet Eriksson 2nd Runner-Up – Joanne Barrett 3rd Runner-Up – Chava Levy 4th Runner-Up – Kikuyo Osuka Top 15 – Eva Rueber-Staier – Vera Fischer – Mónica Larson – Margarita Reyes – Patricia Walker – María Julia Mantilla – Brigitta Lindloff – Patrice Sollner – Wendy Dascomb – Nataša Košir
Special awards Award Contestant Miss Amity – Zohra Boufaden Miss Photogenic – Carole Robinson Best National Costume Thailand – Sangduen Manwong Top 10 Best in Swimsuit – Joanne Barrett – Eva Rueber-Staier – Vera Fischer – Margarita Reyes – Harriet Eriksson – Chava Levy – Gloria Diaz – Wendy Dascomb – Nataša Košir
Pageant Format Same with 1966, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists were individually interviewed by Bob Barker. Following the interviews, the fifteen semi-finalists participated in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. From fifteen, five contestants were shortlisted to advance to the final interview.
Selection committee Sara Lou Harris Carter – African-American model Peter de Maerek – Director of the Belgian Tourist Bureau Gino di Grandi – Owner of an international public relations organization Eileen Ford – American model and founder of Ford Models Yousuf Karsh – Armenian-Canadian photographer Dong Kingman – Chinese-American painter David Merrick – American theatre producer Norma Nolan – Miss Universe 1962 from Argentina Chiyo Tanaka – Japanese author and fashion designer Monique van Vooren – Belgian-American actress Edilson Cid Varela – Brazilian journalist Earl Wilson – American columnist and journalist
Contestants Sixty-one contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Argentina 23 Corrientes Aruba 21 San Nicolaas Australia 19 Sydney Austria 19 Styria Bahamas 21 Georgetown Belgium 19 Hainaut Bermuda 20 Hamilton Bolivia 21 Cochabamba Bonaire 23 Kralendijk Brazil 18 Blumenau Canada 20 Toronto Ceylon 24 Colombo Chile 25 Santiago Colombia 19 Cali Costa Rica 18 San José Curaçao 21 Willemstad Democratic Republic of the Congo 16 Kinshasa Denmark 21 Copenhagen Dominican Republic 18 Samaná Ecuador 20 Guayaquil England 22 London Finland 22 Turku France 24 Paris Greece 18 Athens Guam 18 Hagåtña Holland 21 Amsterdam Honduras 18 Choluteca Hong Kong 18 Hong Kong Iceland 22 Reykjanesbær India 18 Bombay Ireland 25 Dublin Israel 19 Haifa 23 Rome Jamaica 23 Kingston Japan 18 Aichi Luxembourg 18 Esch-sur-Alzette Malaysia 20 Petaling Jaya Malta 20 Gżira Mexico 20 Guanajuato New Zealand 22 Auckland Nicaragua 18 Tipitapa Norway 20 Oslo Peru 19 Trujillo Philippines 18 Parañaque Puerto Rico 20 Río Piedras Scotland 18 Coatbridge Singapore 18 Singapore South Korea 20 Seoul Spain 19 Valencia Suriname 18 Paramaribo Sweden 22 Västra Götaland Switzerland 24 Aargau Thailand 20 Phra Nakhon Tunisia 21 Tunis Turkey 18 Istanbul United States 19 Danville Uruguay 20 Montevideo Venezuela 24 Aragua Wales 22 Colwyn Bay West Germany 22 Bavaria Yugoslavia 21 Novo Mesto
Notes
References
External links
Official website