Miss Peru Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia is crowned Miss World 2005 in the southern Chinese city of Sanya.
For the first time, Miss World hopefuls had to use their charms and youthful beauty to impress millions of television viewers worldwide who picked the Latin American as the winner via telephone, SMS text and Internet voting.
PHOTO: EPA
Previously the winner was picked by a panel of judges.
Five contestants had already been pre-selected for yesterday's final round, while another 10 lucky finalists will be selected through the audience vote from among the 107 nervously awaiting contestants.
At 9pm, they will take the stage at the US$12 million tiara-shaped Beauty Crown Theater, purpose-built last year for China's first ever hosting of an international beauty pageant.
After three weeks of hectic preparations and rehearsals, contestants said they were looking forward to the big night.
"I've been preparing my body, heart and soul for this moment for a long time and I can see that I'm pretty ready for this," Miss Canada, Tijana Arnautovic, said.
"I think we're going to put a good show on. Everyone is anxious about what's going to happen, personally I'm giving it my all and everything else is in God's hand," she said.
A soft-spoken Miss Sri Lanka, Anarkalli Jay, said the worldwide audience vote has made the contest more exciting and challenging for the contestants.
"I feel very excited that we are so close to the crowning," the 17-year-old said.
"The public should have the right to choose who will be queen, it is very exciting now that you're reaching more people," she said.
The winner will replace the reigning Miss Ireland, Rosanna Davison, daughter of Lady in Red pop crooner Chris de Burgh, and go on to perform a variety of duties largely focused on fundraising for charitable organizations.
The five contestants already named as finalists are Miss America, a strong favorite among London-based bookmakers, Miss Mexico, Miss Wales, Miss Antigua and Miss Australia.
They are the respective winners of the Beach Beauty, Top Model, Sports, Talent and Contestant's Own Choice portions of the contest.
For local Sanya residents, the contest is the event of the year with the usually sleepy town at the southern tip of Hainan Island in the South China Sea abuzz with anticipation.
Three weeks ago, thousands turned out to cheer the arrival of the beauty queens amid a colorful parade in which traditional dancers and drummers helped brighten up the normally quiet town.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS