Miss World 2008
Miss World 2008, the 58th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 13 December 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally, the pageant was going to take place in Kiev, Ukraine, but because of the ongoing 2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis in neighbouring South Ossetia, the Miss World Organization decided to move the pageant away from Eastern Europe. 109 contestants from all over the world compete for the crown, the second highest turnout in the 59 years of the pageant. Zhang Zilin of China crowned Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia as the brand new Miss World.
Results
Placements
Continental Queens of Beautyhttp://www.globalbeauties.com/world/2008/live.htm RUSSIA IS THE NEW MISS WORLD! https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081213/wl_africa_afp/lifestylemissworldwomensafrica_081213202121 Russian crowned Miss World 2008
Contestants
Miss World 2008 had a total of 109 contestants.| Country | Contestant | Age | Height | Hometown | Regional |
| ' | Egla Harxhi | 18 | 175 | Tirana | Europe |
| ' | Brigith dos Santos | 18 | 180 | Luanda | Africa |
| ' | Athina James | 18 | 180 | St. John's | Caribbean |
| ' | Agustina Quinteros | 18 | 176 | Santa Rosa | Americas |
| ' | Christina Trejo | 20 | 175 | Tanki Flip | Caribbean |
| ' | Katie Richardson | 20 | 178 | Albion Park | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Kathrin Krahfuss | 23 | 177 | Graz | Europe |
| ' | Tinnyse Johnson | 21 | 176 | Nassau | Caribbean |
| ' | Natalie Griffith | 18 | 168 | Bridgetown | Caribbean |
| ' | Volha Khizhynkova | 21 | 184 | Vitebsk | Europe |
| ' | Alizée Poulicek | 21 | 175 | Brussels | Europe |
| ' | Charmaine Chinapen | 21 | 174 | Belize City | Americas |
| ' | Jackelin Arias | 18 | 177 | Santa Cruz | Americas |
| ' | Tanja Vujičić | 18 | 178 | Nevesinje | Europe |
| ' | Itseng Kgomotso | 19 | 178 | Gaborone | Africa |
| ' | Tamara Almeida | 23 | 174 | Ipatinga | Americas |
| ' | Julia Yurevich | 19 | 177 | Kozloduy | Europe |
| ' | Leah Ryerse | 20 | 178 | Hamilton | Americas |
| ' | Nicosia Lawson | 25 | 175 | George Town | Caribbean |
| ' | Nataly Chilet | 23 | 175 | Santiago | Americas |
| ' | Mei Yan Ling | 25 | 180 | Dalian | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Jamie Lin | 24 | 173 | Taichung | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Katherine Medina | 18 | 180 | Medellín | Americas |
| ' | Amalia Matamoros | 19 | 178 | Naranjo | Americas |
| ' | Josipa Kusić | 20 | 182 | Zagreb | Europe |
| ' | Norayla Francisco | 23 | 179 | Willemstad | Caribbean |
| ' | Mari Vasileiou | 18 | 168 | Larnaca | Europe |
| ' | Zuzana Jandová | 20 | 178 | Karviná | Europe |
| ' | Lisa Lents | 21 | 174 | Copenhagen | Europe |
| ' | Geisha Montes De Oca | 21 | 175 | Santo Domingo | Caribbean |
| ' | Christelle Ndila | 18 | 174 | Kinshasa | Africa |
| ' | Marjorie Cevallos | 22 | 183 | Guayaquil | Americas |
| ' | Sanaa Ismail Hamed | 24 | 175 | Alexandria | Africa |
| ' | Gabriela Gavidia | 18 | 173 | La Libertad | Americas |
| ' | Laura Coleman | 22 | 175 | Leicester | Europe |
| ' | Hibret Fekadu | 18 | 180 | Addis Abeba | Africa |
| ' | Linda Wikstedt | 19 | 174 | Helsinki | Europe |
| ' | Laura Tanguy | 20 | 175 | Angers | Europe |
| ' | Khatuna Skhirtladze | 18 | 177 | Tbilisi | Europe |
| ' | Anne Katrin Walter | 21 | 172 | Dahme-Spreewald | Europe |
| ' | Frances Takyi-Mensah | 22 | 180 | Elmina | Africa |
| ' | Krystel Robba | 22 | 178 | Gibraltar | Europe |
| ' | Aggeliki Kalaitzi | 24 | 173 | Thessaloniki | Europe |
| ' | Frédérika Charpentier | 23 | 175 | Basse-Terre | Caribbean |
| ' | Maribel Arana | 23 | 174 | Guatemala City | Americas |
| ' | Christa Simmons | 23 | 173 | Georgetown | Americas |
| ' | Gabriela Zavala | 23 | 183 | San Pedro Sula | Americas |
| ' | Skye Chan | 24 | 165 | Hong Kong | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Szilvia Freire | 24 | 174 | Budapest | Europe |
| ' | Alexandra Ívarsdóttir | 18 | 180 | Reykjavík | Europe |
| ' | Parvathy Omanakuttan | 21 | 175 | Kottayam | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Sandra Angelia | 22 | 169 | Surabaya | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Sinéad Noonan | 21 | 175 | County Meath | Europe |
| ' | Tamar Ziskind | 23 | 176 | Haifa | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Claudia Russo | 25 | 178 | Messina | Europe |
| ' | Brittany Lyons | 19 | 166 | Kingston | Caribbean |
| ' | Mizuki Kubodera | 21 | 173 | Kanagawa | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Alfina Nasyrova | 20 | 175 | Almaty | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Ruth Kinuthia | 22 | 184 | Nairobi | Africa |
| ' | Choi Bo-in | 22 | 169 | Seoul | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Ina Avlasēviča | 20 | 180 | Dobele | Europe |
| ' | Rosarita Tawil | 20 | 178 | Beirut | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Gabrielė Martirosianaitė | 18 | 176 | Kaunas | Europe |
| ' | Soo Wincci | 23 | 170 | Selangor | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Martha Fenech | 18 | 170 | St. Julian's | Europe |
| ' | Élodie Delor | 18 | 183 | Fort-de-France | Caribbean |
| ' | Olivia Carey | 19 | 170 | Vacoas | Africa |
| ' | Anagabriela Espinoza | 20 | 180 | Monterrey | Americas |
| ' | Iana Varnacova | 17 | 180 | Chişinău | Europe |
| ' | Chinbatyn Anun | 23 | 173 | Ulan Bator | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Mariana Mihajlović | 18 | 180 | Plavnica | Europe |
| ' | Marelize Robberts | 21 | 180 | Windhoek | Africa |
| ' | Carmen Kool | 22 | 178 | Arnhem | Europe |
| ' | Kahurangi Taylor | 18 | 180 | Auckland | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Adaeze Igwe | 18 | 173 | Awka | Africa |
| ' | Judith Wilson | 23 | 180 | Enniskillen | Europe |
| ' | Lene Egeli | 21 | 178 | Stavanger | Europe |
| ' | Gabriela Rejala | 19 | 173 | Ñemby | Americas |
| ' | Annmarie Dehainaut | 18 | 175 | Lima | Americas |
| ' | Danielle Castaño | 19 | 174 | Quezon City | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Klaudia Ungerman | 20 | 177 | Wysieradz | Europe |
| ' | Andréia Rodrigues | 24 | 175 | Lisbon | Europe |
| ' | Ivonne Orsini | 20 | 175 | Bayamón | Caribbean |
| ' | Ksenia Sukhinova | 21 | 178 | Tyumen | Europe |
| ' | Joy-Ann Biscette | 22 | 173 | Castries | Caribbean |
| ' | Stephanie Willemse | 19 | 180 | Glasgow | Europe |
| ' | Nevena Lipovac | 19 | 175 | Belgrade | Europe |
| ' | Elena Angione | 22 | 168 | Mahé | Africa |
| ' | Tyrilla Gouldson | 24 | 175 | Freetown | Africa |
| ' | Faraliza Tan | 22 | 175 | Singapore | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Edita Krešáková | 19 | 180 | Seňa | Europe |
| ' | Tansey Coetzee | 23 | 174 | Johannesburg | Africa |
| ' | Patricia Yurena Rodríguez | 18 | 179 | Granadilla de Abona | Europe |
| ' | Rochelle Correa | 24 | 176 | Colombo | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Tiffany Simelane † | 20 | 172 | Mhlambanyatsi | Africa |
| ' | Jennifer Palm Lundberg | 22 | 176 | Sigtuna | Europe |
| ' | Nasreen Karim | 22 | 174 | Mwanza | Africa |
| ' | Ummarapas Jullakasian | 23 | 173 | Nonthaburi | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Gabrielle Walcott | 23 | 173 | Petit Valley | |
| ' | Leyla Tuğutlu | 19 | 180 | Istanbul | Europe |
| ' | Dora Mwima | 18 | 175 | Tororo | Africa |
| ' | Iryna Zhuravska | 18 | 177 | Kiev | Europe |
| ' | Lane Lindell | 18 | 177 | Tampa | Americas |
| ' | Fatimih Dávila | 20 | 175 | Montevideo | Americas |
| ' | Hannelly Quintero | 23 | 178 | Ocumare del Tuy | Americas |
| ' | Dương Trương Thiên Lý | 19 | 170 | Đồng Tháp | Asia & Oceania |
| ' | Chloe-Beth Morgan | 22 | 173 | Cwmbran | Europe |
| ' | Winfridah Mofu | 19 | 172 | Lusaka | Africa |
| Cynthia Muvirimi | 25 | 170 | Harare | Africa |
Judges
Miss World 2008 contestants were judged based upon the criteria of glamour, beauty, intelligence and poise. Some of the judges were representatives of the Miss World Organization. Some of the contestants, such as Ksenia Sukhinova, communicated with the judges using a translator. Judges for the event were:- Julia Morley – Chairwoman of the Miss World Organization.
- Wilnelia Merced – Miss World 1975 from Puerto Rico
- Aminurta Kang – Theatre stage director, China and North America
- Krish Naidoo – International ambassador for Miss World
- Pearl Luthuli – Group executive public commercial services SABC
- Lindiwe Mahlangu – Chief executive of the Joburg Tourism Company
- Precious Moloi-Motsepe – Chairperson of African Fashion International
- Graham Cooke – President of World Travel
Returns
- Last competed in 1999:
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- Last competed in 2004:
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- Last competed in 2005:
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- Last competed in 2006:
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Designations
- – Miss Thailand World was not held this year due to the death of Princess Galyani Vadhana, so last year's 1st runner-up, Ummarapas Jullakasian represented Thailand.
Replacements
- ' – Meriam George was replaced by Sanaa Ismail Hamed at the last minute for some undisclosed reasons.
- ' – Miss Hong Kong 2008 winner Edelweiss Cheung was replaced by the 1st runner-up, Skye Chan.
- ' – Janina San Miguel was replaced by Bb. Pilipinas 1st runner-up, Danielle Castaño due to Janina's personal decision to give up her crown.
- ' – Jennifer Palm Lundberg placed 3rd runner-up in the Miss World Sweden pageant, but won the title when each of the original top three placers declined the crown after disagreements over the winner's contract.
- – Miss Vietnam World 2008 Trần Thị Thùy Dung was not allowed to compete after it was revealed that she did not graduate from high school. This also applied to all runners-up and/or finalists who competed at the same pageant. The 2nd runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, Dương Trương Thiên Lý, was designated to represent Vietnam at Miss World 2008.
Withdrawals
- ' – Due to lack of funding and sponsorship
- ' – Suzana Al-Salkini withdrew due to lack of funding and sponsorship, but she did compete the following year at Miss World 2009.
- ' – The organiser of the Miss Nepal pageant said it was postponing the contest scheduled for 23 August 2008 to an unknown date, after the Maoist women's wing, which has trained its sights on Miss Nepal, announced a Kathmandu Valley shutdown on the day to prevent the event.
- ' – Kathya Saldaña had problems with the regional organisation and didn't obtain a South African visa in time.
- ' – Due to lack of funding and sponsorship
- ' – Due to lack of funding and sponsorship
- – Mireille Nederbiel was not allowed to compete in Miss World by the decision of pageant organizers.