Crown for Venezuelan girl

Press, 14 November 1981, Page 1

Crown for Venezuelan girl

Pilin Leon, a computer engineering student from Venezuela, was crowned “Miss World” yesterday. Miss Leon, aged 18, is shown with the runner-up, Miss Nini Gonzales, aged 18 (Miss Colombia) left, and Miss Sandra Cunningham, aged 24, (Miss Jamaica) right who was third. Miss Leon, aged 18, was selected from among 67 entrants at the thirtieth

annual “Miss World" contest, held at the Royal Albert Hall, reports the Press Association. A year earlier, another 18-year-old, Gabriella Brum (Miss Germany) was named to the title, but she resigned only hours later after a telephone call to her boyfriend. About 150 million television viewers in 33 countries ' watched Thursday evening’s judging. “Miss New

Zealand,” Raewyn Marcroft, aged 18, was unplaced. One of the questions put to her by the judges was: “Is New Zealand part of Australia?” Another question was: “Where is New Zealand?” Miss Leon won about 545,000, a fur coat, and a one-year employment contract. Australia’s entrant, Melissah Hannan, received a proposal of marriage a few hours

before the judging from an ' oil sheik from Qatar. He offered 20,000 camels for her hand. Melissah’s father, a 1 Sydney television personality, Jimmy Hannan, said: ’ “I thought he was joking, but he had seen, my daughter in I the hotel and he was serious. “I told him I was not ! interested. Now if he had offered oil wells ... that’s a ; different story.” 1