Miss World 1961 was the 11th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom, on 9 November 1961. Thirty-seven candidates competed in that pageant. The winner was Rosemarie Frankland, representing the United Kingdom.
Selection of participants Contestants from thirty-seven countries and territories were selected to participate in the competition. Two contestants were appointed to represent their countries/territories after being runners-up in their national competitions or were selected through a casting process.
Replacements Miss France 1961, Luce Auger, was initially supposed to represent her country. However, she was dethroned due to already having a child. Auger was replaced by her first runner-up, Michèle Wargnier. Additionally, the third runner-up of Miss Holland 1961, Rita van Zuiden, was appointed to represent Holland because Miss Holland 1961, Anne Marie Brink, had already participated in another international beauty pageant, and one of the runners-up, Stanny van Baer, became Miss International 1961.
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals This edition marked the debut of the Republic of China and Suriname, and the return of Austria, Ceylon, New Zealand, and Venezuela. Ceylon last competed in 1955, New Zealand in 1956, Venezuela in 1958, and Austria in 1959. Australia, Burma, French Polynesia, Canada, Jordan, Kenya, Norway, and Tanganyika withdrew from the competition due to their national organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Chriss Leon of Jamaica was originally supposed to participate. However, her boyfriend did not allow her to go to participate. Leon would instead participate the next year, in which she made into the top 15.
Results PlacementContestantMiss World 1961 United Kingdom – Rosemarie Frankland1st runner-up Republic of China – Grace Li2nd runner-up Spain – Carmen Cervera3rd runner-up France – Michèle Wargnier4th runner-up Denmark – Inge JörgensenTop 7 New Zealand – Leone Main United States – Jo Ann OdumTop 15 Argentina – Susana Pardal Austria – Hella Wolfsgrubej Finland – Ritva Wächter Ireland – Olive White Japan – Chie Murakami South Africa – Yvonne Hulley Turkey – Güler Samuray West Germany – Romy März
Competition Format Several changes were implemented in this edition. The number of semi-finalists was reduced to fifteen from eighteen in the previous edition. The fifteen semi-finalists were selected through a preliminary competition held on the day of the final event, which consisted of a swimsuit and evening gown competition. The fifteen semi-finalists were interviewed by Peter West, and from them, seven finalists were chosen to proceed to the final interview.
Selection Committee Denis Butler – 9th Earl of Lanesborough Norman Hartnell – English designer for Queen Elizabeth II La Countess Ethel Beatty – Member of the English aristocracy Bob Hope – English-American actor and comedian Frances Manners – Duchess of Rutland Bernard Delfont – English impresario Billy Butlin – English businessman Richard Todd – English-Irish actor John Spencer-Churchill – 11th Duke of Marlborough and nephew of Winston Churchill
Contestants Thirty-seven contestants competed for the title. CountryContestantAgeHometown Argentina Susana Pardal 22 Buenos Aires Austria Hella Wolfsgrubej 18 Salzburg Belgium Jacqueline Oroi 20 Brussels Bolivia Nancy Justiniano 19 Santa Cruz Brazil Alda Coutinho 23 Guanabara Ceylon Sushila Perera 19 Colombo Cyprus Andreava Polydorou 21 - Denmark Inge Jörgensen 19 Odense Ecuador Magdalena Dávila - Pichincha Finland Ritva Wächter 20 Helsinki France Michèle Wargnier 19 Paris Greece Efstathia Karaiskaki 22 Athens Holland Ria van Zuiden 21 - Iceland Jóhanna Kolbrún Kristjánsdóttir - Reykjavík India Veronica Torcato 25 Maharashtra Ireland Olive White 17 Dublin Israel Er'ela Hod 18 - Italy Franca Cattaneo 20 Genova Japan Chie Murakami 19 Osaka Lebanon Leila Antaki 22 Beirut Luxembourg Vicky Schoos 18 Luxembourg City Madagascar Jeanne Rakatomahanina 20 Diego-Suárez New Zealand Leone Main 20 Auckland Nicaragua Thelma Arana 22 Granada Republic of China Grace Li 19 Taipei Rhodesia and Nyasaland Angela Moorcroft 19 Salisbury South Africa Yvonne Hulley 19 Overberg South Korea Hyun Chang-ae 19 Seoul Spain Carmen Cervera 18 Barcelona Suriname Kitty Essed 18 Paramaribo Sweden Ingrid Lundquist 21 - Turkey Güler Samuray 20 Istanbul United Kingdom Rosemarie Frankland 18 Lancashire United States Jo Ann Odum 19 Huntington Uruguay Roma Spadaccini Aguerre 25 Montevideo Venezuela Bexy Romero 18 Caracas West Germany Romy März 20 Munich
Notes
References
External links Miss World official website