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Turkish delight in Miss World contest

Miss Turkey Azra Akin flies the Turkish flag after being crowned 2002 Miss World, Saturday, at the Alexandra Palace in London. PHOTO:AFP

With a gleaming smile and a graceful bow, Miss Turkey was crowned Miss World on Saturday, bringing to a close an international pageant that has been dogged by violence and controversy.

Azra Akin, 21, stood proudly to attention while her national anthem was played, after she accepted the glittering tiara and a ?100,000 prize from last year's winner, Nigeria's Agbani Darego.

"I hope I will represent the women of the world in a good way," Akin told reporters as she sat on her throne.

"I am very honored to be Miss World," she said, wearing her new Miss World sash over a flamboyant red dress. "I think it is good for a woman to have this position, and I hope I can make a difference."

Unlike its heyday in the 1970s, this year's beauty queens glided along the catwalk in evening gowns rather than swim wear -- part of an effort to shed the show's sexist and outdated image.

But swim wear was not entirely absent Saturday. As the girls strutted across the elaborate stage, footage of them shot beside a Nigerian waterfall was flashed across giant screens.

Despite its 11th hour relocation, the 52nd pageant was a slick and glitzy affair, watched by a sellout audience.

Organizers say the show was broadcast in 137 countries to a global audience of more than two billion.

In Britain, however, where the pageant is widely seen as a quaint, kitsch spectacle, no television channel agreed to broadcast it.

The rioting that left more than 200 people dead in Nigeria was barely mentioned during the upbeat show.

"Our thoughts go out to the families that suffered," said Sean Kanan, an actor from US soap The Bold and The Beautiful who co-hosted the event.

"Of course, I was shocked by what happened in Nigeria. I hope people in the world will be more respectful to each other," said Akin.

In Nigeria, viewers tuned in with a mixture of regret and relief, with most agreeing the pageant had to be moved from their country to avoid further bloodshed.
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