Miss World 1979

{{Short description|Beauty pageant edition}} {{pp-sock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox beauty pageant | winner = [[Gina Swainson]]<ref name=autogenerated1>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19800715&id=VqlUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6Y8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6998,3199858&hl=en ''New Straits Times'']</ref> | image = [[File:Miss World 1979 Map.PNG|250px]] | caption = Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss World 1979<ref name="W.W. Gaunt & Sons 1987"/><ref name="E! 2014"/><ref name="TSDI"/> | represented = Bermuda | personality = Anne-Marie Franke (Guam) | photogenic = Karin Zorn (Austria) | date = 15 November 1979 | presenters = {{Hlist|[[Esther Rantzen]]|[[Sacha Distel]]}} | venue = [[Royal Albert Hall]], [[London]], United Kingdom | broadcaster = [[BBC]] | entrants = 70 | placements = 15 | debuts = {{Hlist|Lesotho}} | returns = {{Hlist|Bolivia|Guatemala|Lebanon|Panama|Portugal}} | withdraws = {{Hlist|Curaçao|Dominica|Saint Vincent|Tunisia}} | before = [[Miss World 1978|1978]] | next = [[Miss World 1980|1980]] }}

'''Miss World 1979''', the 29th edition of the [[Miss World]] pageant, was held on 15 November 1979 at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in [[London]], United Kingdom. The winner was [[Gina Swainson]] from Bermuda.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> She was crowned by Miss World 1978, [[Silvana Suarez]] of Argentina. First runner-up was [[Carolyn Seaward]] representing the United Kingdom and second runner-up was Debbie Campbell from Jamaica. Swainson was a first runner-up in [[Miss Universe 1979]], while Seaward was second runner-up in same pageant as the representative of England.

Live television coverage of the contest was largely abandoned by the [[BBC]] as a result of a trade union dispute typical of the era in Britain, when sound engineers refused to work, and the [[BBC]] decided shortly beforehand that it could not show live pictures without a commentary. The parade of the contestants in their national costumes and each of the entrants in their evening wear had been recorded the night before, so this was televised, followed later in the evening with the crowning of the winner with mute pictures narrated by [[Ray Moore (broadcaster)|Ray Moore]].<ref>"Miss World not shown as BBC dispute worsens", ''[[The Times]]'' page 2, 16 November 1979</ref> A unscheduled repeat of ''[[Futtocks End]]'' was televised to bridge the two segments. For later overseas transmission, a commentary was added to the silent pictures of the entire event, but the interviews with the final 7 contestants were never shown.

This edition marked the debut of Lesotho. And the return of Portugal, which last competed in [[Miss World 1973|1973]], Guatemala last competed in [[Miss World 1976|1976]] and Bolivia, Lebanon and Panama last competed in [[Miss World 1977|1977]]. Curaçao, Dominica, Saint Vincent, Tunisia, withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons.

== Results ==

=== Placements === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;" |- ! Placement ! Contestant |- | '''Miss World 1979''' | * '''{{flag|Bermuda}}''' – '''[[Gina Swainson]]'''<ref name=autogenerated1 /> |- | 1st Runner-up | * {{flag|United Kingdom}} – [[Carolyn Seaward]] |- | 2nd Runner-up | * {{flag|Jamaica}} – Debbie Campbell |- | 3rd Runner-up | * {{flag|Australia}} – Jodie Anne Day |- | 4th Runner-up | * {{flag|Switzerland}} – Barbara Meyer |- | Top 7 | * {{flag|Austria}} – Karin Zorn<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-11 |title=Miss Mundo 1979 |url=https://rodriguezmatute.home.blog/2020/05/10/miss-mundo-1979/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO |language=en}}</ref> * {{flag|Brazil|1968}} – Lea Silvia Dall'acqua<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-11 |title=Miss Mundo 1979 |url=https://rodriguezmatute.home.blog/2020/05/10/miss-mundo-1979/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO |language=en}}</ref> |- | Top 15 | * {{flag|Malaysia}} – Shirley Chew * {{flag|Mexico}} – Roselina Rosas Torres * {{flag|Panama}} – Lorelay de la Ossa * {{flag|Spain|1977}} – María Dolores Forner Toro * {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}} – Marlene Coggins * {{flag|United States}} – Carter Wilson * {{flag|Uruguay}} – Laura Rodríguez Delgado * {{flag|West Germany}} – Andrea Hontschik |}

== Contestants == {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- ! Country !! Contestant !! Age !! Hometown |- | {{flagicon|ARG}} [[Miss Argentina|Argentina]]|| Verónica Ivonne Gargani || 19 || [[Buenos Aires]] |- | {{flagicon|ARU}} [[Miss Aruba|Aruba]]|| Vianca van Hoek || 20 || [[Oranjestad, Aruba|Oranjestad]] |- | {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Miss World Australia|Australia]]|| Jodie Anne Day || 18 || [[Brisbane]] |- | {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Miss Austria|Austria]]|| Karin Zorn || 18 || [[Weiz]] |- | {{flagicon|BAH}} [[Miss Bahamas|Bahamas]]|| Deborah Major || 20 || [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]] |- | {{flagicon|BEL}} [[Miss Belgium|Belgium]]|| Christine Cailliau || 23 || [[Brussels]] |- | '''{{flagicon|BER}} [[Miss World Bermuda|Bermuda]]''' || '''[[Gina Swainson]]''' || 21 || [[St. George's Parish, Bermuda|St. George's Parish]] |- | {{flagicon|BOL|civil}} [[Miss Bolivia|Bolivia]]|| Patricia Asbún || 20 || [[Santa Cruz de la Sierra]] |- | {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Miss Brazil World|Brazil]]|| Léa Sílvia dall’Acqua || 20 || [[Campinas]] |- | {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Miss World Canada|Canada]]|| Catherine Mackintosh || 23 || [[Thunder Bay, Ontario|Thunder Bay]] |- | {{flagicon|Cayman Islands|old}} [[Miss Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands]]|| Jennifer Jackson || 21 || [[George Town, Cayman Islands|George Town]] |- | {{flagicon|CHI}} [[Miss World Chile|Chile]]|| Marianela Toledo || 19 || [[Santiago]] |- | {{flagicon|COL}} [[Miss Mundo Colombia|Colombia]]|| Rosaura Rodríguez || 17 || [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] |- | {{flagicon|CRC}} [[Reinas de Costa Rica|Costa Rica]]|| Marianela Brealey || 17 || [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]] |- | {{flagicon|CYP}} [[Miss Cyprus|Cyprus]]|| Eliana Djiaboura || 24 || [[Nicosia]] |- | {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Miss World Denmark|Denmark]]|| Lone Jörgensen || 18 || [[Holstebro]] |- | {{flagicon|DOM}} [[Miss Dominican Republic|Dominican Republic]]|| Sabrina Brugal || 18 || [[Santo Domingo]] |- | {{flagicon|ECU}} [[Miss Ecuador|Ecuador]]|| Olba Padilla || 18 || [[Guayaquil]] |- | {{flagicon|ESA}} [[Reinado de El Salvador|El Salvador]]|| Ivette Lopez || 19 || [[San Salvador]] |- | {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Miss Finland|Finland]]|| Tuire Pentikäinen || 23 || [[Helsinki]] |- | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Miss France|France]]|| Sylvie Parera || 18 || [[Marseille]] |- | {{flagicon|French Polynesia}} [[Miss Tahiti|French Polynesia]]{{Efn|Competed as Tahiti in the pageant}} || Thilda Fuller || 24 || [[Pape'ete]] |- | {{flagicon|GIB|ensign}} [[Miss Gibraltar|Gibraltar]]|| Audrey Lopez || 21 || [[Gibraltar]] |- | {{flagicon|GRE}} [[Star Hellas|Greece]]|| Mika Dimitropoulou || 17 || [[Athens]] |- | {{flagicon|GUM}} [[Miss World Guam|Guam]]|| Anne-Marie Franke || 18 || [[Hagatna]] |- | {{flagicon|GUA}} [[Miss Guatemala|Guatemala]]|| Michele Domínguez || 19 || [[Guatemala City]] |- | {{flagicon|NED}} [[Miss Nederland|Holland]]|| Nannetje Nielen || 22 || [[Amsterdam]] |- | {{flagicon|HON|1949}} [[Miss Honduras|Honduras]]|| Gina Maria Weidner || 18 || [[San Pedro Sula]] |- | {{flagicon|British Hong Kong}} [[Miss Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]|| Mary Ng || 21 || [[Kowloon Bay]] |- | {{flagicon|ISL}} [[Miss Iceland|Iceland]]|| Sigrún Sætran || 24 || [[Reykjavík]] |- | {{flagicon|IND}} [[Femina Miss India|India]]|| Raina Mendonica || 22 || [[Bombay]] |- | {{flagicon|IRL}} [[Miss Ireland|Ireland]]|| Maura McMenamim || 21 || [[Dublin]] |- | {{IMN}} || Kathleen Mary Craig || 17 || [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] |- | {{flagicon|ISR}} [[Miss Israel|Israel]]|| Dana Feller || 19 || [[Tel Aviv]] |- | {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Miss World Italy|Italy]]|| Rossana Serratore || 18 || [[Asti]] |- | {{flagicon|JAM}} [[Miss Jamaica World|Jamaica]]|| Debbie Campbell<ref name="W.W. Gaunt & Sons 1987">{{cite book | title=Jamaica | publisher=W.W. Gaunt & Sons | series=W.I.L.I.P. series | year=1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_fpD9s0V2AC&q=Miss+World+1981|page=92 | isbn=9780245540240 | quote=They enthusiastically choose a Miss Jamaica Universe each May and a Miss Jamaica World each September And there are ... have been second runners-up in the Miss World finals — Debbie Campbell in 1979 and Sandra Cunningham in 1981.}}</ref> || 17 || [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]] |- | {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Miss World Japan|Japan]]|| Motomi Hibino || 19 || [[Nagoya]] |- | {{flag|Jersey|old}} || Treena Foster || 21 || [[Saint Helier]] |- | {{flagicon|LIB}} [[Miss Lebanon|Lebanon]]|| Jacqueline Riachi || 19 || [[Beirut]] |- | {{flag|Lesotho|1966}} || Pauline Essie Kanedi || 22 || [[Maseru]] |- | {{flagicon|MAS}} [[Miss World Malaysia|Malaysia]]|| Shirley Chew || 18 || [[Kangar]] |- | {{flagicon|MLT}} [[Miss World Malta|Malta]]|| [[Helena Dalli|Elena Christine Abela]] || 17 || [[Sliema]] |- | {{flagicon|MRI}} [[Miss Mauritius|Mauritius]]|| Maria Allard || 24 || [[Port Louis]] |- | {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Miss Mexico Organization|Mexico]]|| Roselina Rosas Torres || 19 || [[Durango City]] |- | {{flagicon|NZL}} [[New Zealand at Miss World|New Zealand]]|| Nikki Duckworth<ref>{{cite news |title=Waikato girl takes Miss N.Z. title |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1979/09/24/1 |work=[[The Press]] |page=1 |access-date=3 January 2026 |date=24 September 1979 |location=[[Christchurch]], New Zealand |via=[[National Library of New Zealand#Papers Past|Papers Past]]}}</ref> || 17 || [[Hamilton, New Zealand|Hamilton]] |- | {{flagicon|NGR}} [[Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria|Nigeria]]|| [[Helen Prest-Ajayi|Helen Prest]] || 20 || [[Ibadan]] |- | {{flagicon|NOR}} [[Norway at Miss World|Norway]]|| Jeanette Aarum || 20 || [[Fredrikstad]] |- | {{flagicon|PAN}} [[Miss Panama|Panama]]|| Lorelay de la Ossa || 19 || [[Panama City]] |- | {{flagicon|PAR|1954}} [[Miss Paraguay|Paraguay]]|| Martha Galli || 19 || [[Asunción]] |- | {{flagicon|PER}} [[Miss Peru|Peru]]|| Magali Pérez-Godoy || 18 || [[Lima]] |- | {{flagicon|Philippines|1936}} [[Mutya ng Pilipinas|Philippines]]|| Josefina Francisco || 18 || [[Manila]] |- | {{flagicon|POR}} [[Miss República Portuguesa|Portugal]]|| Ana Gonçalves Vieira || 18 || [[Lisbon]] |- | {{flagicon|Puerto Rico|1952}} [[Miss World Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]]|| Daisy López || 18 || [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] |- | {{flagicon|SIN}} [[Miss Singapore World|Singapore]]|| Violet Lee || 20 || [[Singapore]] |- | {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Miss Korea|South Korea]]{{Efn|Competed as Korea in the pageant}} || [[Hong Yeo-jin]] || 21 || [[Seoul]] |- | {{flagicon|ESP|civil}} [[Miss Spain|Spain]]|| [[Lola Forner|Dolores Forner]] || 19 || [[Madrid]] |- | {{flagicon|SRI}} [[Miss World Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]|| Shamila Weerasooriya || 17 || [[Colombo]] |- | {{flagicon|SWZ}} [[Miss Swaziland|Swaziland]]|| Gladys Carmichael || 17 || [[Manzini Region|Manzini]] |- | {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Miss World Sweden|Sweden]]|| Ing-Marie Säveby || 19 || [[Stockholm]] |- | {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Miss Switzerland|Switzerland]]|| Barbara Mayer || 21 || [[Marly, Fribourg|Marly]] |- | {{flagicon|THA}} [[Miss Thailand World|Thailand]]|| Tipar Suparbpun || 22 || [[Bangkok]] |- | {{flagicon|TRI}} [[Miss Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad and Tobago]]|| Marlene Coggins || 21 || [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago|San Fernando]] |- | {{flagicon|TUR}} [[Miss Turkey|Turkey]]|| Şebnem Ünal<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 May 2020|last=Tarihi|first=Güncelleme|title=Güzeller canlı yayında buluştu|trans-title=Beauties met on live broadcast|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/galeri-1929dan-gunumuze-turkiye-guzelleri-41508916|access-date=29 April 2025|website=[[Hürriyet]]|language=tr|archive-date=2 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102125519/https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/galeri-1929dan-gunumuze-turkiye-guzelleri-41508916|url-status=live}}</ref> || 18 || [[Istanbul]] |- | {{flagicon|UK}} [[Miss United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]|| [[Carolyn Seaward]] || 20 || [[Yelverton, Devon|Yelverton]] |- | {{flagicon|US}} [[United States representatives at Miss World|United States]]|| Carter Wilson<ref name="TSDI">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1979&dat=19790912&id=vH8iAAAAIBAJ&pg=2917,1881532&hl=en|title=The Sumter Daily Item|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> || 23 || [[Harrisonburg, Virginia|Harrisonburg]] |- | {{flag|ISV|name=United States Virgin Islands}}|| Jasmine Olivia Turner || 17 || [[Saint Croix]] |- | {{flagicon|URU}} [[Miss Uruguay|Uruguay]]|| Laura Rodríguez || 21 || [[Montevideo]] |- | {{flagicon|Venezuela|1954}} [[Miss Venezuela|Venezuela]]|| [[Tatiana Capote]]<ref name="E! 2014">{{cite web | title=Miss World Competition Through the Years | website=[[E!]] | date=December 12, 2014 | url=http://www.eonline.com/photos/14545/miss-world-competition-through-the-years/443153| access-date=January 23, 2016}}</ref>|| 18 || [[Barinas, Barinas|Barinas]] |- | {{flagicon|FRG}} [[Miss World Germany|West Germany]]|| Andrea Hontschik || 20 || [[Berlin]] |- | {{flagicon|SAM}} [[Miss Samoa|Western Samoa]]|| Danira Schwalger || 19 || [[Apia]] |}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

[[Category:Miss World]] [[Category:1979 in London]] [[Category:1979 beauty pageants]] [[Category:Beauty pageants in England]] [[Category:Events at the Royal Albert Hall]] [[Category:November 1979 in the United Kingdom]]