Miss World 1996 Winner Irene Skliva Greece

 Miss World 1996 Winner Irene Skliva Greece 

Miss World 1996, the 46th edition of the prestigious Miss World pageant, was held at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, India, on November 23, 1996. This grand event marked a significant milestone in beauty pageant history, drawing the attention of viewers worldwide.

The crowning moment witnessed Irene Skliva of Greece being bestowed with the coveted title of Miss World 1996. Jacqueline Aguilera of Venezuela, the outgoing titleholder, graciously passed on the prestigious crown to Skliva, making her the first Greek contestant to claim this esteemed honor.

A total of eighty-eight countries and territories participated in this year's pageant, each showcasing the diverse beauty and charm of their respective regions. The event was impeccably hosted by Richard Steinmetz and Ruby Bhatia, adding to the grandeur and elegance of the occasion.

Results:

Miss World 1996: Greece – Irene Skliva
1st runner-up: Colombia – Carolina Arango
2nd runner-up: Brazil – Anuska Prado

Top 5:

• India – Rani Jeyraj
• Venezuela – Ana Cepinska

Top 10:

• Aruba – Afranina Henriquez
• Belgium – Laurence Borremans
• Dominican Republic – Idelsa Núñez
• Mexico – Yessica Salazar
• South Africa – Peggy-Sue Khumalo

Continental Queens of Beauty for Miss World 1996:

Africa: South Africa – Peggy-Sue Khumalo
Americas: Colombia – Carolina Arango
Asia & Oceania: India – Rani Jeyraj
Caribbean: Aruba – Afranina Henriquez
Europe: Greece – Irene Skliva

Here's the list of contestants for Miss World 1996:

• Argentina: Fernanda Fernández (Age: 18)
• Aruba: Afranina Henriquez (Age: 20)
• Australia: Nicole Smith (Age: 24)
• Austria: Bettina Buxbaumer (Age: 23)
• Bangladesh: Rehnuma Dilruba (Age: 20)
• Belgium: Laurence Borremans (Age: 18)
• Bolivia: Andrea Forti (Age: 19)
• Bonaire: Jhane Landwier (Age: 18)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Belma Zvrko (Age: 18)
• Botswana: Joyce Manase (Age: 20)
• Brazil: Anuska Prado (Age: 20)
• British Virgin Islands: Ayana Glasgow (Age: 21)
• Bulgaria: Viara Kamenova (Age: 21)
• Canada: Michelle Weswaldi (Age: 19)
• Chile: Luz Francisca Valenzuela (Age: 20)
• Colombia: Carolina Arango (Age: 19)
• Costa Rica: Natalia Carvajal (Age: 21)
• Croatia: Vanja Rupena (Age: 18)
• Curaçao: Yandra Faulborn (Age: 19)
• Cyprus: Maria Papaprodromou (Age: 19)
• Czech Republic: Petra Minářová (Age: 18)
• Dominican Republic: Idelsa Núñez Torres (Age: 21)
• Ecuador: Jennifer Graham (Age: 19)
• Estonia: Mari-Liis Kapustin (Age: 18)
• Finland: Hanna Hirvonen (Age: 20)
• France: Séverine Derouallé (Age: 22)
• Germany: Melanie Ernst (Age: 18)
• Ghana: Sheila Azuntaba (Age: 19)
• Gibraltar: Samantha Lane (Age: 17)
• Greece: Irene Skliva (Age: 18)
• Grenada: Aria Johnson (Age: 25)
• Guam: Aileen Maravilla (Age: 23)
• Guatemala: María Gabriela Rosales (Age: 19)
• Holland: Petra Hoost (Age: 20)
• Hong Kong: Chillie Poon (Age: 24)
• Hungary: Andrea Deak (Age: 19)
• India: Rani Jeyraj (Age: 21)
• Ireland: Niamh Redmond (Age: 19)
• Israel: Talia Lewenthal (Age: 18)
• Italy: Mara de Gennaro (Age: 24)
• Jamaica: Selena Delgado (Age: 21)
• Japan: Miyuki Fujii (Age: 21)
• Kenya: Pritpal Kulwant Dhamu (Age: 18)
• Latvia: Anta Dukere (Age: 22)
• Lebanon: Nisrine Sami Nasser (Age: 22)
• Lithuania: Daiva Anuzyte (Age: 18)
• Macau: Guiomar Madeira da Silva Pedruco (Age: 21)
• Macedonia: Vera Mesterovic (Age: 17)
• Malaysia: Qu-an How Cheok Kuan (Age: 20)
• Mexico: Yessica Salazar González (Age: 22)
• New Zealand: Kelly-Rose Mischiewski (Age: 21)
• Nigeria: Emma Komlosy (Age: 19)
• Norway: Eva Sjøholt (Age: 24)
• Panama: Norma Élida Pérez (Age: 21)
• Paraguay: María Ingrid Götze (Age: 22)
• Peru: Mónica Chacón de Vettori (Age: 21)
• Philippines: Daisy Reyes (Age: 20)
• Poland: Agnieszka Zielińska (Age: 20)
• Portugal: Ana Mafalda Santos (Age: 21)
• Puerto Rico: Marissa de la Caridad Hernández (Age: 21)
• Romania: Carmen Radoi (Age: 21)
• Russia: Viktoriya Tsapitsina (Age: 17)
• Seychelles: Christina Pillay (Age: 22)
• Singapore: Carol Tan (Age: 19)
• Slovakia: Linda Lencova (Age: 18)
• Slovenia: Alenka Vindiš (Age: 18)
• South Africa: Peggy-Sue Khumalo (Age: 21)
• South Korea: Seol Soo-jin (Age: 21)
• Spain: Patricia Ruiz Fernández (Age: 19)
• Swaziland: Olive Healy (Age: 22)
• Sweden: Åsa Johansson (Age: 20)
• Switzerland: Melanie Winiger (Age: 17)
• Tahiti: Hinerava Hiro (Age: 18)
• Taiwan: Chen Hsiao-Fen (Age: 23)
• Tanzania: Shose Akare Sinare (Age: 20)
• Thailand: Sirinya Burbridge (Age: 17)
• Trinidad and Tobago: Sharda Ramlogan (Age: 23)
• Turkey: Serpil Sevilay Ozturk (Age: 19)
• Uganda: Sheba Kerere (Age: 19)
• Ukraine: Nataliya Shvachko (Age: 20)
• United Kingdom: Rachael Liza Warner (Age: 22)
• United States: Kelly Webber (Age: 20)
• United States Virgin Islands: Emoliere Williams (Age: 18)
• Uruguay: Claudia Verónica Gallaretta Olmedo (Age: 19)
• Venezuela: Ana Cepinska Miszczak (Age: 18)
• Yugoslavia: Slavica Krivokuća (Age: 18)
• Zambia: Alice Banda (Age: 21)
• Zimbabwe: Nomsa Ndiweni (Age 19)

The judges for the Miss World 1996 pageant were:

1. Andre Sekulic
2. Linda Pétursdóttir – Miss World 1988 from Iceland
3. Vijay Mallya
4. Marlene Cardin
5. Aamir Khan
6. Aishwarya Rai – Miss World 1994 from India
7. Sanath Jayasuriya
8. Ninibeth Leal – Miss World 1991 from Venezuela
9. Tom Nuyens – Mister World 1996 from Belgium
10. Parmeshwar Godrej

Debuts:

• Bonaire
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Macedonia

Returns:

• Grenada (Last competed in 1970)
• Yugoslavia (Last competed in 1991)
• Uganda (Last competed in 1993)
• Uruguay (Last competed in 1993)
• Kenya (Last competed in 1994)

Withdrawals:

• Bahamas: Nicole Symonette could not compete due to financial problems with the Miss Bahamas Committee, which ran Miss Bahamas for both Miss World and Miss Universe. Therefore, they were only able to send a representative to Miss Universe 1996.
• Cayman Islands: Withdrawn due to financial problems.

Controversy surrounded the organization of the event, which was spearheaded by ABCL under the leadership of Amitabh Bachchan. Various groups expressed resistance to the beauty pageant, citing concerns about perceived cultural clashes. Despite the opposition, the event proceeded successfully with the support of the local government.

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