# Miss World 1956

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Beauty pageant edition

Miss World 1956 Petra Schürmann Date 15 October 1956 Presenters Eric Morley Venue Lyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom Entrants 24 Placements 6 Debuts Japan Morocco New Zealand South Africa Tunisia Withdrawals Australia Ceylon Cuba Honduras Monte Carlo Returns Egypt Switzerland Turkey Winner Petra Schürmann West Germany ← 1955 1957 →

**Miss World 1956** was the sixth [Miss World](/source/Miss_World) pageant, held at the [Lyceum Ballroom](/source/Lyceum_Theatre%2C_London) in [London](/source/London), United Kingdom, on 15 October 1956.

At the conclusion of the event, [Susana Duijm](/source/Susana_Duijm) of [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela) crowned [Petra Schürmann](/source/Petra_Sch%C3%BCrmann) of [West Germany](/source/West_Germany) as Miss World 1956. This is the first victory of West Germany in the history of the pageant.

The announcement of the winner led to some confusion during the ceremony. Initially, Betty Lane Cherry of the United States was mistakenly announced as the winner when she received the winner's sash. However, it was later clarified that she was the first runner-up. In response to the mix-up, she stated, "Two seconds don't make one first."[1][2]

Contestants from twenty-four countries participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by [Eric Morley](/source/Eric_Morley).

## Background

Lyceum Ballroom, venue of Miss World 1956

### Selection of participants

Twenty-four contestants were selected to compete in the pageant.

#### Debuts, returns and withdrawals

This edition marked the debut of Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia, and the returns of Egypt, Switzerland and Turkey, which last competed in [1954](/source/Miss_World_1954).

Maureen Kistle of Australia withdrew after deciding to make her trip to London in December, leaving her without the financial support to return in October before her national title was awarded. As a result, [Eric Morley](/source/Eric_Morley) sent a letter to Australian newspapers seeking a replacement for Kistle, but none emerged.[3] Marcia Rodríguez of Cuba did not participate for undisclosed reasons.[4] Ceylon, Honduras, and Monte-Carlo withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Marthe Niankoury of Côte d'Ivoire was supposed to participate, but she was unable to do so due to visa problems.[5] Leda Brandão Rau of Brazil and Dorothy Moreau of Canada were also supposed to participate. However, they were unable to do so due to budget constraints.[6][7] Lola Sabogal of Peru was also invited to compete, but she did not compete for undisclosed reasons.

## Results

Miss World 1956 participating countries and territories

The finalists of Miss World 1956

### Placements

Placement Contestant Miss World 1956 West Germany – Petra Schürmann 1st runner-up United States – Betty Lane Cherry 2nd runner-up Israel – Rina Weiss 3rd runner-up Japan – Midoriko Tokura[8] 4th runner-up Denmark – Anne Rye Nielsen 5th runner-up Sweden – Eva Bränn

## Contestants

Twenty-four contestants competed for the title.[9]

Country Contestant Age[a] Hometown Austria Margaret Scherz 22 Vienna Belgium Madeleine Hotelet[10] 25 Brussels Denmark Anne Rye Nielsen 19 Frederiksberg Egypt Norma Dugo[11] 17 Cairo Finland Sirpa Helena Koivu[12] 18 Turku France Geneviève Solare[13] 20 Paris Greece Maria Passaloglou 19 Athens Holland Ans van Pothoven[14] 18 Amsterdam Iceland Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir[15] 19 Reykjavík Ireland Amy Kelly 22 Dublin Israel Rina Weiss[16] 19 Tel Aviv Italy Angela Portaluri[17] 19 Maglie Japan Midoriko Tokura[18] 20 Yamaguchi Morocco Lydia Marin[19] 19 Rabat New Zealand Jeanette de Montalk[20] 20 Whangārei South Africa Norma Vorster[21] 19 Natal Sweden Eva Bränn 20 Timrå Switzerland Yolanda Daetwyler 20 Zürich Tunisia Pascaline Agnes[22] 20 Tunis Turkey Suna Özekin 20 Istanbul United Kingdom[b] Iris Alice Kathleen Waller[11] 21 Gateshead United States Betty Lane Cherry[23] 20 Orangeburg Venezuela Celsa Pieri 18 Carúpano West Germany Petra Schürmann[24] 23 Mönchengladbach

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-B_10-0)** Age at the time of the pageant

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Competed as Great Britain in the pageant

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Eddy Gilmore, ["Miss Germany Wins World Beauty Title"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8910148/1956_miss_world/), *[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)* in *[San Mateo Times](/source/San_Mateo_Times)*, 16 October 1956. Retrieved 17 February 2017 via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Dale Linder-Altman, [" It's happened before: Orangeburg queen also incorrectly labeled winner"](http://thetandd.com/news/it-s-happened-before-orangeburg-queen-also-incorrectly-labeled-winner/article_5e9741f4-2de4-522b-b0ec-227b49ab52cc.html), *[The Times and Democrat](/source/The_Times_and_Democrat)*, 22 December 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Miss World just can't be an Australian..."](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/84390507?searchTerm=%22Miss%20World%22) *The Argus*. 9 October 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:22_4-0)** ["Beauties from many lands join in opening Miss Universe Contest"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MnE_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=rlQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=687%2C77332). *[Youngstown Vindicator](/source/Youngstown_Vindicator)*. 16 July 1956. p. 13. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via [Google News Archive](/source/Google_News_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Johnson, Elizabeth Ofosuah (24 February 2019). ["See the first-ever beauty queens from Africa"](https://face2faceafrica.com/article/see-the-first-ever-beauty-queens-from-africa). *Face2Face Africa*. Retrieved 7 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Miss Canada"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33935893/the-ottawa-journal/). *The Ottawa Journal*. 9 July 1956. p. 7. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Miss Canada"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22531213/santa-cruz-sentinel/). *Santa Cruz Sentinel*. 2 September 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-sydney_8-0)** ["OPERA HOUSE RECITAL"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19640817&id=34RWAAAAIBAJ&pg=7124,6236132&hl=ja). *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. 17 August 1964. Retrieved 14 April 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["6th Miss World - 1954"](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1956). *[Miss World](/source/Miss_World)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240904062245/https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1956) from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Erelijst Miss België"](https://www.demorgen.be/tv-cultuur/erelijst-miss-belgie~b5723d4d/) [Honors list Miss Belgium]. *De Morgen* (in Dutch). 11 January 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_12-1) ["Miss England, Miss Egypt to share room"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NDweAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BL8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4407%2C1276674). *[Sarasota Herald-Tribune](/source/Sarasota_Herald-Tribune)*. 9 October 1956. p. 6. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via [Google News Archive](/source/Google_News_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Sirpa Koivu, vuoden 1956 kaunein"](http://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2006/09/08/sirpa-koivu-vuoden-1956-kaunein) [Sirpa Koivu, the most beautiful of 1956]. *Yle* (in Finnish). 8 September 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Mais oui"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dmQeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7JkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2279%2C5817162). *[The Tuscaloosa News](/source/The_Tuscaloosa_News)*. 17 October 1956. p. 12. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via [Google News Archive](/source/Google_News_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Miss Holland was een week te vroeg"](https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMHCO02:163759002:mpeg21:p00009) [Miss Holland was a week early]. *Twentsch dagblad Tubantia* (in Dutch). 2 October 1956. p. 9. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via Delpher.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Warm hand for Miss Iceland"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/84391569?searchTerm=%22Miss%20World%22). *The Argus*. 15 October 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Israeli beauties"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w8xWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GUINAAAAIBAJ&pg=1333%2C848470). *[The News-Dispatch](/source/The_News-Dispatch)*. 17 July 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Un souvenir memorable"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3jIqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MkYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1495%2C3293225) [A memorable souvenir]. *Photo Journal* (in French). 27 October 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via [Google News Archive](/source/Google_News_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Japanese girl favourite"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79269597?searchTerm=%22Miss%20World%22). *The Central Queensland Herald*. 11 October 1956. p. 31. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Babas, Latifa (11 February 2019). ["Histoire : Quand le Maroc était représenté dans les concours internationaux de beauté"](https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/74480/histoire-quand-maroc-etait-represente.html). *Yabiladi* (in French). Retrieved 1 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["N.Z. Girl Refuses To Parade In World Beauty Contest"](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1956/10/11/13). *[The Press](/source/The_Press)*. [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand. 11 October 1956. p. 13. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via [Papers Past](/source/National_Library_of_New_Zealand#Papers_Past).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["History of Miss South Africa"](https://www.news24.com/you/archive/history-of-miss-south-africa-20170728-2). *News24*. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** ["Miss Tunisie : retour sur 60 ans d'histoire – Jeune Afrique"](https://www.jeuneafrique.com/379331/societe/miss-tunisie-retour-60-ans-dhistoire/). *JeuneAfrique.com* (in French). 3 December 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:02_25-0)** McHugh, Robert (28 October 1956). ["South Carolina's cornering market on beautiful girls"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115765120/battle-creek-enquirer/). *Battle Creek Enquirer*. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** ["Mehr Liebe geht nicht"](https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/zum-tod-von-petra-schuermann-mehr-liebe-geht-nicht-1.62847) [More love is not possible]. *[Süddeutsche Zeitung](/source/S%C3%BCddeutsche_Zeitung)* (in German). 17 May 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

## External links

- [Miss World official website](http://www.missworld.com)

v t e Miss World Editions 1950s 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Related Titleholders Runners-up and finalists Editions Countries Beauty with a Purpose

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Miss World 1956](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_1956) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_1956?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.