Miss Universe 1968 was the 17th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, on 13 July 1968.
At the conclusion of the event, Sylvia Hitchcock of the United States crowned Martha Vasconcellos of Brazil as Miss Universe 1968. It is the second victory of Brazil in the history of the pageant.
Contestants from sixty-five countries and territories competed in this edition. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker, while June Lockhart provided commentary throughout the competition.
Background Selection of participants Contestants from sixty-five countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two candidates were appointed to represent their country to replace the original dethroned winner.
Replacements Miss Australia 1968, Helen Newton, withdrew after her sponsor decided not to participate in the competition. As a result, the rights to choose the Australian candidate for Miss Universe went to the Queen of Quests competition, which was won by Lauren Jones.
Elizabeth Cadren, second runner-up of Miss France 1968, was appointed as the French candidate for Miss Universe after Miss France 1968, Christiane Lillio, decided that she will not compete in any international competition.
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals
This edition saw the debuts of Congo-Kinshasa, Malta, and Yugoslavia, and the returns of Haiti which last competed in 1962; Australia and Tunisia in 1965; and Ceylon, Ecuador, Jamaica, Lebanon, Nicaragua, and Thailand last competed in 1966. Cuba, Panama, and Paraguay withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Miss Morocco, Zakia Chamouch, was set to compete but withdrew for being underage.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 1968 – Martha Vasconcellos 1st Runner-Up – Anne Braafheid 2nd Runner-Up – Leena Brusiin 3rd Runner-Up – Peggy Kopp 4th Runner-Up – Dorothy Anstett Top 15 – Nancy Wilson – Dánae Salas – Jennifer Summers – Elizabeth Cadren – Miranta Zafiropoulou – Miriam Fridman – Tone Knaran – Anne Hellqvist Thailand – Apantree Prayutsenee – Daliborka Stojšić
Special awards Award Contestant Miss Amity – Yasuyo Iino Miss Photogenic – Daliborka Stojšić Best National Costume – Luz Elena Restrepo Top 15 Best in Swimsuit – Roxana Bowles – Martha Vasconcellos – Nancy Wilson – Anne Braafheid – Jennifer Summers – Elizabeth Cadren – Miranta Zafiropoulou – Miriam Fridman – Margine Davidson – Monica Fairall – Yoon-jung Kim – Anne Hellqvist Thailand – Apantree Prayutsenee – Dorothy Anstett – Daliborka Stojšić
Pageant Format Same with 1966, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists were individually interviewed by Bob Barker. Following the interviews, the fifteen semi-finalists participated in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. From fifteen, five contestants were shortlisted to advance to the final interview.
Selection committee Edilson Cid Varela – Brazilian journalist Sara Lou Harris Carter – African-American model Hideo Den – Japanese news presenter Yousuf Karsh – Armenian-Canadian photographer Dong Kingman – Chinese-American painter Orna Porat – German-born Israeli theater actress Edwin Acosta Rubio – Venezuelan newspaper and advertising executive Miriam Stevenson – Miss Universe 1954 from the United States Earl Wilson – American columnist and journalist
Contestants
Sixty-five contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Argentina 23 Buenos Aires Aruba 18 Oranjestad Australia 21 Sydney Austria 24 Vienna Bahamas 20 Nassau Belgium 20 Dilsen-Stokkem Bermuda 23 Pembroke Parish Bolivia 18 Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bonaire 18 Kralendijk Brazil 20 Salvador Canada 19 Chatham-Kent Ceylon 18 Colombo Chile 22 Santiago Colombia 18 Barranquilla Costa Rica 19 San José Curaçao 21 Willemstad Democratic Republic of the Congo 20 Kinshasa Denmark 20 Copenhagen Dominican Republic 18 Santo Domingo Ecuador 18 Guayaquil England 22 London Finland 22 Helsinki France 22 Paris Greece 22 Athens Guam 21 Agana Haiti 18 Port-au-Prince Holland 21 The Hague Honduras 19 Tegucigalpa Hong Kong 18 Hong Kong Iceland 18 Reykjavík India 23 Hyderabad Ireland 22 Dublin Israel 18 Tel Aviv Italy 18 Rome Jamaica 19 Kingston Japan 18 Tokyo Lebanon 18 Beirut Luxembourg 18 Esch-sur-Alzette Malaysia 20 Johor Bahru Malta 22 Qormi Mexico 18 Mexico City New Zealand 18 Auckland Nicaragua 20 Matagalpa Norway 18 Oslo Okinawa 19 Naha Peru 19 Lima Philippines 18 Quezon City Puerto Rico 19 Santurce Scotland 22 Glasgow Singapore 19 Singapore South Africa 20 Durban South Korea 18 Seoul Spain 18 Basque Country Sweden 18 Hallsberg Switzerland 19 Zürich Thailand 20 Phra Nakhon Tunisia 20 Tunis Turkey 18 Istanbul United States 21 Kirkland United States Virgin Islands 19 Charlotte Amalie Uruguay 20 Montevideo Venezuela 18 Caracas Wales 19 Swansea West Germany 20 Bavaria Yugoslavia 23 Belgrade
Notes
References
External links
Official website