Miss World 1995
- an amalgam
of news reports -
Miss Venezuela won the Miss World crown in a pageant marked by the
withdrawal of Nigeria’s candidate over her country’s execution of nine
dissidents.
Raven-haired Jacqueline Aguilera Marcano, 19, received the crown from 1994
winner Aishwarya Rai of India, concluding a glitzy two-hour show that
organizers said was broadcast to millions of viewers in 80 countries.
Miss Croatia Anica Martinovic, 19, was first runner-up and Miss Trinidad and
Tobago Michelle Khan, 23, was second runner-up. Miss Korea Yun Yon Choe and
Miss Israel Miri Bohadana were the other finalists in the pageant, the
fourth Miss World competition held at the Sun City gambling resort.
The 84 women vying for the title were forced to contend with one of the
biggest controversies in the pageant’s 45-year history - the withdrawal of
Miss Nigeria, 23-year-old Toyin Raji.
Raji dropped out two days before the finals under pressure from the
government of North West Province, where the pageant was held. Officials
said Raji should be expelled as a sign of solidarity with dissidents in
Nigeria, following the Nov. 10 hangings of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and
eight other activists.
Pageant officials reported receiving sabotage threats and said they could
not jeopardize the competition. On hearing of her departure, tearful
contestants chose Raji as Miss Personality.
Marcano, a brown-eyed industrial relations student with ambitions to become
a television anchorwoman, also won the Miss Photogenic award voted by the
media. The swimsuit she wore to accept the award was fuchsia, like the
low-cut gown she wore at the crowning.
Asked during the competition what her one wish could be, Marcano replied in
Spanish: “That the whole world continue together fighting for progress and
to try to improve the world for the whole benefit of humanity.”
Her hobbies include reading and diving.
Christopher Lee, one of the judges and an actor known for his roles in
horror films, praised Marcano as “an intelligent girl and very easy to talk
to.”
“You need more in Miss World than just being a pretty face,” he said. “You
need to be an ambassador for your country every single day for a year.”
Marcano will receive official prizes of $78,000, holidays in Sun City, the
Comoro Islands and Dubai, and all the cosmetics she can wear. The title
also brings lucrative sponsorships and entertainment possibilities.
