The 62nd Miss World pageant ended with the crowning of the 23-year old Wen Xia Yu of the People’s Republic of China. This is the second crown of China after winning in 2007.
Winning the Miss World crown twice both in the home turf definitely raises some questions of the pageant’s integrity. China is pretty. But there are definitely more deserving women to win the blue crown.
The preliminary activities and China’s unusual placement to these many fast track event are already premonitions to her big win during the final gala.
This year’s competition was held in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. The city is a far cry from the exotic and stylish venues of previous Miss World, and rival Miss Universe. But the Chinese government, reportedly, spent some amount to make the city Ordos as host of Miss World to introduce this sprawling metropolis along the Gobi desert to the world.
Excitement among pageant fans ignited upon seeing the lavish and spectacular opening ceremony held in Ordo’s spacious outdoor stadium. Others have prematurely declared Miss World this year will be the pageant of the year and will definitely put Miss Universe into oblivion. Well, they were wrong.
The spectacular stage provided perhaps the biggest screens used in the pageant. But the numbers were boring and at a point, flatly not entertaining. The lack of action defeats the purpose of a finals night. Instead of having semifinalist competing for the crown, Miss World’s final gala has become a glamorized ”announcement’ night as candidates wear evening gowns, stand on the huge stage and waits for their countries be announced.
The leaderboard is also confusing, ranking the candidates but there scores are not reflecting their rank. India was ranked 1st during the announcement of the Top 15, but her score was way below the 2nd placer Mexico. And I myself can’t get any explanation about it.
But the greatest blunder of the night was the results. China winning the crown again in China? What has become of Miss World is seriously a threat to the future of the pageant.
Here’s the full list of winners:
Miss World 2012: CHINA, Wen Xia Yu
1st runner-up: WALES, Sophie Moulds
2nd runner-up: AUSTRALIA, Jessica Kahawaty
Top 7 Finalists: BRAZIL, Mariana Notarangelo; JAMAICA, Deanna Robins; SOUTH SUDAN, Atong Demach; and INDIA, Vanya Mishra.
Top 15 Semi Finalists: SPAIN, Aranzazu Estevez; NETHERLANDS, Nathalie Den Dekker; ENGLAND, Charlotte Holmes; MEXICO, Mariana Berumen; USA, Claudine Book; PHILIPPINES, Queenierich Rehman; INDONESIA, Ines Putri; and KENYA, Shamin Nabil.
Beach Fashion Winner: Wales
Top Model Winner: South Sudan
Multimedia Award: India (winner), 2nd place: Mexico
Sports Award: Sweden
Talent Award: China
World Designer Dress: Not Announced
Beauty with a Purpose Award: India
Continental Queens of Beauty:
Americas: Brazil
Africa: South Sudan
Asia and Oceania: China
Caribbean: Jamaica
Europe: Wales
Miss South Sudan, the chocolate beauty from the newly-created sub-saharan nation is a perfect choice for the crown. She is perfect for the pageant’s tagline — Beauty with a Purpose. But the organization chose a lackluster but pretty-faced Miss China perhaps to appease China for hosting the pageant so many times already.
Also a big surprise was China’s win as Miss Talent over Miss Philippines out-of-the-box performance which wowed the world and was featured in many international news websites.
The 2012 results of Miss World has once again proven the pageant adage — CHINA wins if the pageant is in CHINA.
The 2013 edition of Miss World will be held in Bali, Indonesia to be co-hosted by Jakarta.
Miss Universe is set on December 11, 2012 and I hope it will have fans eat their words. Haters of Miss Universe were trying to paint the pageant as losing its sparkle due to the still undisclosed venue. But I firmly believe that Miss Universe will still outshine the snoozefest that is Miss World with its chic and modern presentation, adrenaline-filled stage action and the heart-pounding announcement of the finalists. Pageant should always be entertaining.
