Miss World 1952
| Miss World 1952 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 November 1952 |
| Presenters | Eric Morley |
| Venue | Lyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom |
| Entrants | 11 |
| Placements | 5 |
| Debuts |
|
| Withdrawals |
|
| Winner | May-Louise Flodin Sweden |
Miss World 1952 was the second Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom, on 14 November 1952.
At the conclusion of the event, May-Louise Flodin of Sweden was announced as Miss World 1952. It was the first back-to-back victory in Miss World. During the announcement of winners, Flodin was only awarded with a trophy and a bouquet.
A special award was given by actress and former beauty queen Betty Hutton, who came third-runner up in each of her beauty pageant. It was given to Eva Hellas of Finland. It is also known, unofficially, that the fourth-runner up was Marlene Ann Dee of United Kingdom and the fifth runner-up was Nicole Drouin from France.
Eleven contestants from ten countries participated in this year's pageant, the smallest number of contestants in its history. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.
Background
Selection of participants
Eleven contestants from ten countries were selected to compete in the pageant. Two contestant was invited to compete again to even out the number of contestants, while two contestants were appointed to replace the original winner.
Replacements
Elisabeth van Proosdij was set to represent Holland at Miss World.[1] However, Van Proosdij chose to get married during her reign.[2] Therefore, Sanny Weitner, first runner-up at Miss Holland 1951, was appointed as the representative of Holland at Miss World.[2]
Debuts and withdrawals
After promoting the competition with twelve contestants, Morley thought of inviting Miss Britain 1951 Marlene Ann Dee to complete the twelve contestants in this edition. This edition marked the debuts of Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and West Germany. Belgium was also set to debut this year, however, Anne-Marie Pauwels refused to part from her boyfriend during the contest,[3] leading to her disqualification. Thus, only eleven contestants competed in the finals. Leila Teresa Tuma of Syria did not compete due to political tensions.[4]
Results
Placements
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss World 1952 |
|
| 1st Runner-Up |
|
| 2nd Runner-Up |
|
| 3rd Runner-Up |
|
| 4th Runner-Up |
|
| 5th Runner-Up |
|
Judges
A panel of six judges evaluated the performances of the eleven contestants. They were:[7]
- Glynis Johns - actress
- Petula Clark - singer and actress
- Richard Todd - actor
- Claude Berr - co-organizer of the Miss Europe pageant
- Eddy Franklyn - owner of a model agency
- Charles Eade - editor of the Sunday Dispatch
Contestants
Eleven contestants competed for the title.[8]
| Country | Contestant | Age[a] | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Lillian Christensen | – | Copenhagen |
| Finland | Eva Hellas[9] | 19 | Helsinki |
| France | Nicole Drouin[10] | 22 | Paris |
| Holland | Sanny Weitner[11] | 19 | Amsterdam |
| Ireland | Eithne Dunne | — | Dublin |
| Sweden | May-Louise Flodin[12] | 20 | Gothenburg |
| Switzerland | Sylvia Müller | 20 | Geneva |
| United Kingdom[b] | Doreen Dawne[13] | 29 | London |
| Marlene Ann Dee | 20 | ||
| United States | Tally Richards[14] | 24 | New York City |
| West Germany | Vera Marks[15] | 19 | Frankfurt |
Notes
References
- ^ "Amsterdams meisje gekozen tot Miss Holland" [Amsterdam girl chosen as Miss Holland]. Het Parool. 28 April 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b "Wie wordt "Miss World"?" [Who will be "Miss World"?]. Zutphens dagblad voor de Graafschap en Veluwezoom (in Dutch). 31 October 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ "Erelijst Miss België". De Morgen (in Dutch). 11 January 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Mobayed, Samy Marwan (30 March 2022). "Syrian beauty pageants from a long, long time ago". Raseef22. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ a b c "Bouquets". The Straits Times. 22 November 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.
- ^ "Fairest of them all". Lewiston Morning Tribune. 19 November 1952. p. 5. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ a b c Rodríguez Matute, Julio (14 October 2019). "Miss World 1952". MISS WORLD HISTORY / HISTORIA DE MISS MUNDO. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
- ^ "2nd Miss World - 1952". Miss World. Archived from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ De Rybel, Seija (8 September 2006). "Eva Hellas, Miss Suomi 1952" [Eva Hellas, Miss Finland 1952]. Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "There's beauty for you". The Straits Times. 8 November 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.
- ^ "Miss Holland (reserve) wil Miss World worden" [Miss Holland (reserve) wants to become Miss World]. Leeuwarder courant. 11 November 1952. p. 9. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Miss Zweden, het mooiste meisje van de wereld" [Miss Sweden, the most beautiful girl in the world]. De Telegraaf. 15 November 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Swedesh miss wins beauty title". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 18 August 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Untitled". Singapore Standard. 12 November 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.
- ^ "Vera Marks". Der Spiegel (in German). 2 October 1951. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 29 February 2024.