Miss Universe 1994

Miss Universe 1994
Miss Universe 1994 participating nations and results
Date	20 May 1994
Presenters	Bob Goen, Arthel Neville, Angela Visser
Entertainment	Peabo Bryson, Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company
Venue	Plenary Hall, Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
Broadcaster	CBS
Entrants	77
Placements	10
Debuts	Russia, Slovak Republic, Zimbabwe
Withdrawals	Austria, Belize, Czech Republic, Ghana, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Suriname, U.S. Virgin Islands, Lithuania, Indonesia
Returns	Cook Islands, Egypt, Taiwan
Winner	Sushmita Sen  India
Congeniality	Barbara Kahatjipara  Namibia
Best National Costume	Charlene Gonzales  Philippines
Photogenic	Minorka Mercado  Venezuela

Miss Universe 1994, the 43rd Miss Universe pageant, was held on 20 May 1994 at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center in the city of Pasay, Philippines, a suburb of Manila. Sushmita Sen of India was crowned by Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico at the end of the event. This marks the first time that India won the pageant. 77 contestants competed in this year.

Results

PICC in Manila

Placements

Contestants

Notes

Debuts

•  Russia competed before as "USSR", "Soviet Union" and as "Commonwealth of Independent States".
•  Slovak Republic attended for the first time, after separating from Czech Republic, the former Czechoslovakia. Czech Republic did not participate in Miss Universe 1994.
•  Zimbabwe

Returns

•  Cook Islands
•  Egypt
•  Taiwan R.O.C.

Withdrawals

Host country

Manila was announced as host city for the pageant in October 1993.^[2] It was the second time the pageant was held in the Philippines, after it was staged in Manila in 1974.^[2] It was staged at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, at approximately 8:00 in the morning (Philippine local time), to allow CBS in the United States to televise the pageant live in prime time.

Areas of competition

The delegates started arriving in Manila by mid-April and were involved in nearly four weeks of events and competitions. They also visited different locations and attractions throughout the Philippines.

Prior to the final telecast, all contestants competed in swimsuit and evening gown during the preliminary competition. They also participated in interviews with the judges.

During the final competition, the top 10 contestants (based on their preliminary scores) competed in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview. The top six contestants participated in a final round of on-stage interviews, and cut to the final top three before the runners-up were announced and the new Miss Universe named.

Controversies

When Charlene Gonzales (Philippines) won the Best National Costume award, the judges were criticized for favouring the host nation's delegate. Delia Jon Baptiste, who represented the British Virgin Islands, publicly declared that Gonzales won the award because of favouritism and that the other delegates disagreed with the choice.^[3]

The country expected to make 10 million pesos ($357,000) profit out of the pageant, as well as the accompanying media exposure.^[4] The 150 million pesos ($5.3 million) spent on hosting the pageant was funded from the private sectors, with sponsors such as Nestlé, Kodak and Hertz.^[4] Some of the expected sponsorship money did not eventuate, leading the shortfall to be covered by the government.^[5]

By mid May, when the contestants were already in the city, organizers confirmed that they were short of money and were unsure whether a profit would be made from the event.^[6]

In the midst of power shortages around the time of the pageant, the Philippine government promised to ensure that the weekend of the pageant would be "blackout-free".^[7]

The pageant came under attack from the Nationalist Movement of New Women, a branch of the National Democratic Front, which claimed that it was being used to promote sex tourism.^[8] The cost of the event was also criticised by the Philippine Congress, despite it being endorsed by President Fidel Ramos.^[8] A social function attended by the delegates held prior to the final broadcast was picketed by the women's group, who opposed the nature of the pageant and the lavish spending.^[9]

The day prior to the pageant a small homemade bomb exploded outside the pageant venue where the contestants had earlier been rehearsing, although it caused little damage and there were no injuries.^[10]

More than 3000 policemen were involved in protecting the delegates, as well as dozens of policewomen assigned as bodyguards.^[11]

During May there was also a probe by the Commission on Human Rights as to whether a police round-up of street children was intended to improve Manila's international image during the pageant events.^[12] This was also criticised by Miss Thailand, Areeya Sirisopha Chumsai, even though the same scenario happened in their own country during the Miss Universe 1992.^[13]

Inna Zobova (Russia), was detained for 15 hours in a windowless room at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand en route to Manila because she did not have a transit visa.^[14]

Miss Malaysia, Liza Koh, made a public apology on behalf of her country about the arrest of 1200 Filipina maids in Kuala Lumpur.^[15] This led to a warning from the Malaysian Foreign Minister not to make political remarks.^[16]

Miss Mauritius, Viveka Babajee, was a very controversial figure due to her involvement in the 1994 Metro Manila Film Fest Scandal. She was a presenter for the Best Actress award together with actress Gretchen Barretto, an award which was very much disputed.

Venna Melinda (Indonesia), who was not allowed to compete in the pageant because of her country's attitudes towards the swimsuit competition, traveled to Manila to watch the pageant as an observer.^[17]

References

External links

• Miss Universe official website