Pageant News Archives @ Rahul's World of Pageants: Part V

The signing was not a clean sweep. Many Chinese cities expressed interest, but the northern beach city of Dalian emerged as Sanya's greatest competitor, flying in Ms. Morley and a team of Miss World officials to convince them to move the pageant, and Ms. Morley had seriously considered doing so, but a last-minute outbid by the Sanya Government left the people of Dalian disappointed.

Completing the top ten was: Idaho (Kimberly Glyn Weible), Georgia (Caroline Medley), Florida (Kirsten Berset), Oregon (Jennifer Murphy) and Alabama (Tara Darby).

Completing the fifteen semifinalists: Washington (Tara McCormick), Texas (Stephanie Guerrero), New Hampshire (Vanessa Bissanti), New Mexico (Jenna DeeAnne Hardin) and Arizona (Danielle Demski).

After the highly contested competition which was judged by a three-member team made up of Kofi Amponsah, Manager of the HLS Health Club, Ohui Agboka, an Administrative Assistant and Laura Lamptey, an educationist, Menaye had the nod to annex the title. The delegates were judged on intelligence, beauty, elegance and poise in three rounds of a keenly contested event. Ms Donkor will be the seventh in the series of worthy ambassadors to represent Ghana at the world's most prestigious pageant and she is expected to leave for the United States soon to start her grooming and preparation for the competition. In a chat with the Weekend Heritage last Tuesday, Menaye, who is also aspiring to become a model, said her love for fashion compelled her to take part in the contest to experience the beauty of pageants. She said her background as a Ghanaian and having schooled in Canada will give her the potential to effectively combine the two cultures on the international scene. Menaye believes that her charm, high confidence level and ability to socialize with other people are some of the attributes that make her a winning material at the international pageant.

At this time, the Times Group has not officially declared who will go to Miss World 2004. There is no precedent in Femina for such a thing. The strongest rumor is that Sayali Bhagat, Miss India Earth, will be offered the title and that First Runner-Up, Jyoti Brahmin will be elevated to the Miss India-Earth title subsequently.

Femina Miss India-Universe 2004 is 20 year-old, 5'8" Tanushree Dutta (Contestant 28) from Jamshedpur, Bihar, who now lives in Mumbai as a Market Research Analyst and Event Manager. She will immediately begin preparing for the 2004 Miss Universe Pageant in Quito, Ecuador, for which she leaves in 1 1/2 months.

Femina Miss India-World 2004 is 22 year-old, 5'10" Lakshmi Pandit (Contestant 11) from Mysore. After moving to Bangalore and graduating in medical sciences, she moved to Mumbai to pursue a modelling career. She made the top 9 in Femina Miss India 2002. She will represent India at the Miss World Pageant in China, being held on October 31st

Femina Miss India-Earth 2004 is 20 year-old, 5'9" Sayali Bhagat (Contestant 22) from Nasik, who now lives in Mumbai as a Management Student in Mumbai University. She will go on to Miss Earth 2004 in Manila, Philippines.

Completing the finalists were the First Runner-Up, Jyoti Brahmin from Darjeeling, who nows lives in Kolkata as a Business Development Manager. She is scheduled for Miss International 2004 in China. The Second Runner-Up was Simran Chandok from Chennai, who is a student and model. She will go on to Miss Asia-Pacific 2004 in Manila, Philippines, per scheduled.
Completing the top ten finalists: Himani Thapa from Dehra Dun, Shruthakeerty Mudram from Bangalore, Mugdha Godse from Pune, Vanessa Rodrigues from Goa and Mihika Varma from Mumbai

On the other hand, the new 'Miss Ireland' has already been scheduled for August 1st at Citywest in Dublin. The organizers promise new contestants, a new look and new sponsors, as Julia Morley and Rosanna Davidson fly in for the finale.

Miss India-Universe 1995 Manpreet Brar and Sony starlet Rakshanda Khan hosted the event along with film directors Nikhil Advani and Karan Johar. Zee TV will air Grasim Mr. India on March 20th. Check your listings!

Prashant Raj Sachdev, an advertising professional from Mumbai, finished First Runner-Up, while Piyush Vig, a computer application student from Chandigarh, was Second Runner-Up. Whether they go on to int'l competition is unknown.
Courtesy of IANS

The first runner-up was Meighen Miller, 26, from London, Ont., and the second runner-up was Monica Rajchel, 24, from Calgary, Alberta. The third runner-up was Natalie Glebova, 22, from Toronto, and the fourth runner-up was Olivia Gurun, 20, from Windsor, Ontario.

The remaining top ten finalists were Christiana Marzec, 20, from Ottawa, Ont., Veronica Marie Zivcic from Tecumseh, Ont., Julie Hinton, 24, from Concord, Ont., Ashley Devries, 19, from Niagara Falls, Ont., and Anna Maria Ezechiels, 21, from Toronto. Rounding out the top 15 finalists were Laurie Mannette, 21, from Coquitlam, B.C., Brooke Johnston, 25, from Montréal, Québec, Claire Robinson, 21, from Vancouver, B.C., Sara Noble, 24, from Brampton, Ont., and Vithya Gnanakumar, 21, from Calgary, Alta.

The Best Hair prize went to Janet Mackenzie, 23, from Victoria, B.C. Anna Maria Ezechiels was named Miss Photogenic, and Vithya Gnanakumar won the People's Choice Award. Miss Congeniality was Sherylynn Butt from Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Miss Christina Swimwear winners were Veronica Marie Zivcic (1st), Ashley Devries (2nd) and Anna Maria Ezechiels (3rd).
Courtesy of Jimmy Steele

Los Angeles was chosen as the pageant's location in a high-level series of bidding. Early on, Nashville, TN had refused the event, and College Station, TX, could not find the cash. According to San Antonio, TX mayor Ed Garza, "Money for last year's incentives came from hotel-motel tax revenue set aside for the city's ultimately losing campaign for the Pan American Games. But that fund's now tapped out." He did not rule out bidding in the future. Los Angeles beat the following cities: Los Angeles, CA, Baltimore, MD, Wichita, KS, and San Jose, CA. This year's Miss USA ratings are expected to rise once again.
Courtesy of the Associated Press and mySA

More on Danielle: When only 17, she was one of the two winners of the Caribbean Elite Model Look, but she could not handle the pressures. After obtaining her Bachelors' Degree in Environmental Management at Florida International University, she is now pitching her Doctoral Thesis about medical communications in Washington, D.C.. In fact, she gave up a prestigious job there to come back home and work in health communications, as she feels Trinidad & Tobago has many problems which must be combatted. In the meantime, she will begin preparations for the 2004 Miss Universe Pageant in Quito, Ecuador. Thanks to the Miss Trinidad & Tobago Forum.

The defendents: Miss Ireland Beauty Pageant, Limited and its director, Kieran Murray

The problem: The plaintiffs want to prevent Kieran from using the 'Miss Ireland' name on his beauty pageant.

Where and where: January 21st in the High Court

Other facts: The Miss World license was owned by the defendent until 2003, when the plaintiffs made agreements on a new pageant. The crowning of the winner as 'Miss World' has set off her recognition as 'Miss Ireland' and has attracted a flood of corporate sponsors for the 2004 event. The defendents, who still supply contestants to the Miss Universe and Miss Europe Pageants, intend on holding their pageant before Miss Universe 2004, although it is usually held in the early fall (when the winner was sent to Miss World). All information has mysteriously been removed from the official web site.
Thanks to the Irish Sunday Post for this newspiece