Miss Earth 2009, the 9th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 22, 2009, at the Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines. Karla Henry of Philippines crowned her successor Larissa Ramos of Brazil at the end of the event.
The pageant had 80 delegates from various countries and territories that vied for the Miss Earth crown. The pageant's Top 16 competed in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions to determine the Top 8, the first time since 2003.
The Miss Earth 2009 theme was "Green Lifestyle", in which the candidates were involved with environmental causes. The show was hosted by Marc Nelson, Sarah Meier, and Borgy Manotoc.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Earth 2009 – Larissa Ramos Miss Earth – Air 2009 – Sandra Seifert Miss Earth – Water 2009 – Jessica Barboza Miss Earth – Fire 2009 – Alejandra Echevarria Top 8 – Alejandra Castillo – Pascale Nelide – Izabela Wilczek – Rujinan Phanseethum Top 16 – Magalie Thierry – Nona Diakonidze – Shriya Kishore – Kayleigh O'Reilly – Gabriela Rejala – Valerie Lim – Chanel Grantham – Ye-ju Park
Special awards
Major awards Awards Contestant Miss Friendship – Graziella Rogers Miss Photogenic – Tereza Budková Miss Talent – Niuriki Teremate Best in National Costume – Evelyne Almasi Best in Evening Gown – Sandra Seifert Best in Swimsuit – Sandra Seifert
Minor/Sponsor awards Awards Contestant Best in Eco-Bag Design Wear – Tereza Budková Best in Eco-Design Wear – Jenaae Jackson Best in Use of Indigenous Products Wear – Suada Saliu Miss Fontana – Yan Xu Pasigandahan Award – Maria Luisa Santos Placenta Award – Dignelis Jiménez
Winning answer For the 9th edition of Miss Earth, no single final question was asked. Instead, images were flashed on screen and each of the eight finalists was tasked to say something about it.
Statement of Miss Earth 2009: "I come from a country that has the largest rainforest in the world, and it is also known as the 'lungs of the world'. But we cannot just say that we are the 'lungs of the world' because my country produces a lot of air pollution as well." – Larissa Ramos, represented Brazil.
Preliminary events
Beauties for a Cause The delegates of Miss Earth 2009 visited different islands of the Philippines with the theme "Green Lifestyle" and promoted the use of recyclable materials as part of a collective lifestyle. In addition, they engaged in different environmental activities including the planting of trees, and had school tours in the provinces of Ilocos, Laguna, Negros Occidental, Albay, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Pangasinan, Batangas, Iloilo, and Metro Manila.
Press Presentation On 4 November 2009, the delegates were presented to the local and international media at Mader's Garden in Pasig. The women shared their environmental campaigns and expressed their cause on Mother Nature, a continuous campaign they have been waging as "Beauties for a Cause".
Press presentation photos
National Costume The National costume competition of Miss Earth 2009 was held on 4 November 2009 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Grand Theater in Pasay.
Eighty delegates participated in the competition, with Miss Tanzania winning the Best in National Costume award. Minor/sponsor awards were also given that night which included the Placenta Award which was given to Miss Puerto Rico and Pasigandahan Award (the award name is a combination of the main river that passes through Manila and the Filipino word for beauty) which went to Miss Guam.
Coronation venue For the first time, the pageant did not take place on the Island of Luzon. The venue for Miss Earth 2009 final night was initially to be in Cebu City, but the mayor declined due to the financial cost of sponsoring the pageant. Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center won the rights to host the coronation night of the 2009 edition of the pageant.
New crown The Miss Earth organizers unveiled a new crown to be worn by the winner of Miss Earth 2009, with the preservation of planet Earth as its primary consideration. The crown was designed by an environmentalist jewelry designer from Florida, Ramona Haar, the official jeweller of the Miss Earth pageant.
The new crown is made of 100% recycled precious metals: 14kt gold and argentums sterling silver. The gemstones used were precious and semiprecious stones, and donations from over 80 participating countries. These are gemstones that each country is known for either as the origin or source. The gemstones were sent in various forms: faceted, cabochons, beads or rough. The designer travelled to Jaipur, India to have these gemstones individually trimmed and faceted to the required cut and sizes.
The flower in the center of the crown represents Mother Earth, as inspired by the statement of the American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The earth laughs in flowers". The recurring spiral motif has always been associated with "maternal power" and "feminine prestige" which is the essence of Miss Earth. The gentle curves in the crown symbolize "unity" and the "spirit of cooperation".
Contestants Country/Terr. Contestant Age Height Hometown Group Suada Saliu 22 Lezha 1 Gisela Menossi Miss Earth Argentina 2009 Miss Earth Argentina 2009 21 Río Cuarto 2 Melinda HeffernanMiss Earth Australia 2009 24 Cremorne 1 Krystal Brown 23 Nassau 1 Isabel van Hoof 18 Antwerp 2 Larissa Ramos Miss Earth Brazil 2009 20 Manaus 3 Lateesha Ector 24 Pierrefonds 2 Yan Xu 20 Shandong 1 Alejandra Castillo 22 Bogotá 1 Malena Orozco 21 Cartago 2 Jamillette Gaxiola 20 Havana 1 Tereza BudkováMiss Earth Czech Republic 2009Miss Earth Czech Republic 2009 19 Sezimovo Ústí 1 Patrica Tjornelund 22 Copenhagen 1 Mariel Garcia 24 San Francisco de Macoris 1 Diana Delgadohttp://www.grandslampageants.com/ Miss Earth Ecuador 2009 25 Manta 2 Mayra Aldana 23 San Salvador 3 Kirsty Nichol 19 Islington 2 Magalie Thierry 22 Froideconche 3 Marlyne Lea Ayenne 22 Libreville 1 Nona Diakonidze 19 Tbilisi 1 Mariam Abdul Rauf 21 Northern Region 2 Triantafyllia Sarantinou 21 Athens 3 Marie-Ange Seymour 19 Le Moule 2 Maria Luisa Santos Miss Earth Guam 2009 Miss Earth Guam 2009 24 Dededo 3 Hamy Tejeda 24 Guatemala City 3 Alejandra Mendoza 19 La Lima 3 Wang Shan Shan 20 Xinjiang 1 Korinna KocsisMiss Earth Hungary 2009 18 Jákfa 1 Shriya Kishore Miss Earth India 2009 Miss Earth India 2009 23 Mumbai 2 Nadine Zamira Syarief 25 Jakarta 1 Noy Michaelov 24 Jerusalem 1 Luna Isabella Voce 21 Milan 2 Jenaae Jackson 19 Kingston 1 Takada Tomomi 22 Tokyo 1 Catherine Muturi 24 Gatundu 2 Elsa Marku 18 Pristina 2 Diana Kubasova 20 Riga 1 Nicole Lichaa Khoury 18 Beirut 3 Theodora Bănică 21 Luxembourg City 2 Jia Pei 20 Macau 3 Madelyne Nandu 23 Sabah 2 Alison Gallea Valletta 21 Attard 3 Pascale Nelide 18 Fort de France 1 Natalia Quiñones 23 Zapopan 3 Richa Thapa Magar 24 Kathmandu 3 Sabrina Anijs Miss Netherlands Earth 2009 Miss Netherlands Earth 2009 21 The Hague 2 Catherine Irving Miss Earth New Zealand 2009 Miss Earth New Zealand 2009 19 Waverley 2 Modesta Alozie 21 Abia 3 Kayleigh O'Reilly 18 Derry 3 Ayesha Gilani 26 Lahore 1 Geraldine Higuera 20 La Chorrera 2 Gabriela Rejala 20 Ñemby 3 Leticia Rivera 21 Cajamarca 3 Sandra Seifert 25 Bacolod 2 Izabela Wilczek 23 Pabianice 1 Dignelis JiménezMiss Earth Puerto Rico 2009 25 Arecibo 3 Ksenia Podsevatkina 22 Saratov 2 Varuna Curry 21 Apia 3 Sarah Finlay 23 Glasgow 3 Dijana Milojkovic 22 Cuprija 2 Valerie Lim 24 Singapore 3 Lea ŠindlerováMiss Earth Slovak Republic 2009 22 Nitra 2 Maja Jamnik 18 Ljubljana 3 Chanel Grantham 20 Durban 1 Ye-ju Park 22 Seoul 2 Aheu Deng 18 Juba 2 Alejandra EchevarriaMiss Earth Spain 2009Miss Earth Spain 2009 20 Jaén 1 Giulia Simone Olsson 19 Stockholm 2 Graziella Rogers 22 Lyss 3 Niuriki Teremate 21 Punaauia 3 Taiwan Chen Yi-Wen 21 Taipei 3 Evelyne Almasi 24 Dar es Salaam 3 Rujinan Phanseethum 20 Udon Thani 3 Mary Greatz 21 Nuku'alofa 2 Gözde Zay:tr:Gözde Zay 26 Istanbul 2 Alison Capron 23 Providenciales 2 Karina Golovata 21 Kyiv 1 Amy DiazMiss Earth USA 2009 25 North Providence 2 Jessica Barboza 22 Maracaibo 1 Dominique Dyer 20 Neath Port Talbot 2
Notes
Debuts
Returns
Last competed in 2006:
Last competed in 2007:
Withdrawals Contestants who were confirmed initially but were deleted from the roster of delegates just before the pageant started: – Amada Hernandez – Aure Arnulf – Esther Sitali Banda
Contestant who were confirmed initially but were deleted from the roster of delegates six days after the pageant started:
– Dominique Peltier – Lejla Adrovic – Vinka Groseta – Genet Denoba Ogeto – Inessa Nazarova – Queen Christie Tembo – Roxana Ilie
Contestants who withdrew due to other reasons: – Tumisang Sebina was disqualified due to height requirements. – Maritza Rivas was supposedly to compete at Miss Earth but was unable to due to visa problems. – Trương Thị May suffered from a serious sprain on her left leg after a fall on 24 October, just 7 days before the pageant started. She appeared as a special guest in the grand final. It was planned that she might return the following year, but it did not happen. She was a featured candidate representing Vietnam at Miss Earth 2011 after so many unlucky tries.
Countries who withdrew due to lack of funding and sponsorship:
Other notes
Alejandra Mendoza, the winner of Miss Honduras Belleza Nacional 2007–2008 (Miss Honduras 2007–2008) pageant, was supposed to represent Honduras in the Miss Earth 2008, but failed to compete. She competed in the Miss Earth 2009. Sandra Seifert was a contestant in Binibining Pilipinas 2009, but was disqualified for having posed in a two-piece-swimsuit in a men's magazine. Born in Taiwan, she is the first non-native born Philippine representative. Seifert's father is of German heritage, and her mother is Filipino. Amy Diaz previously competed in the Miss USA 2008 where she made the top 15. Diaz is also half Dominican.
References
External links
Woman of the Earth Miss Earth Foundation website