Miss World 1952 was the second Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 14 November 1952.

Miss World 1952
May-Louise Flodin
Date14 November 1952
PresentersEric Morley
VenueLyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom
Entrants11
Placements4
Debuts
  • Finland
  • West Germany
  • Ireland
  • Switzerland
Withdrawals
WinnerMay-Louise Flodin
Sweden
← 1951
1953 →

At the end 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.

Eleven contestants from ten countries participated in this year's pageant, the smallest number of contestants in the history of the pageant. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.

Background

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Selection of participants

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Eleven contestants from ten countries were selected to compete in the pageant. One contestant was invited to compete again to even out the number of contestants, while two contestants were appointed to replace the original winner.

Replacements

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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

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After promoting the competition with twelve contestants, Morley thought of inviting Miss Great Britain 1951 Marlene Ann Dee to complete the twelve contestants in this edition. This edition marked the debuts of Finland, West Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland. 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.

Results

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Miss World 1952 participating countries

Placements

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Placement Contestant
Miss World 1952
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up

Contestants

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Eleven contestants competed for the title.

Country Contestant Age[a] Hometown
  Denmark Lillian Christensen Copenhagen
  Finland Eva Maria Hellas[6] 19 Helsinki
  France Nicole Drouin[7] 22 Paris
  West Germany Vera Marks[8] 19 Frankfurt
  England Doreen Gaffney-Dawne[9] 29 London
Marlene Ann Dee 20
  Holland Sanny Weitner[10] 19 Amsterdam
  Ireland Eithne Dunne Dublin
  Sweden May-Louise Flodin[11] 20 Gothenburg
   Switzerland Sylvia Muller 20 Geneva
  United States Tally Richards[12] 24 New York City

Notes

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  1. ^ Age at the time of the pageant

References

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  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Erelijst Miss België". De Morgen (in Dutch). 11 January 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Bouquets". The Straits Times. 22 November 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.
  5. ^ "Fairest of them all". Lewiston Morning Tribune. 19 November 1952. p. 5. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ De Rybel, Seija (8 September 2006). "Eva Hellas, Miss Suomi 1952" [Eva Hellas, Miss Finland 1952]. Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  7. ^ "There's beauty for you". The Straits Times. 8 November 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.
  8. ^ "Vera Marks". Der Spiegel (in German). 2 October 1951. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Swedesh miss wins beauty title". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 18 August 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Untitled". Singapore Standard. 12 November 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via National Library Board.


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