Miss Venezuela Wins Miss World Crown

The final seven — chosen by the judges, who included nine former Miss Worlds — were Miss England, Miss Korea, Miss Philippines, Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Scotland, Miss South Africa and Miss Venezuela. Just before the winner was announced, a message of support from former South African president Nelson Mandela was read out on stage by one of his grandsons, backing their work “empowering young people to be of service to their communities.”

The contest’s charitable programme, set up 40 years ago, has raised $800 million (580 million euros) to date. Sarcos’s victory means that Venezuela now tops the all-time leaderboard alone with six titles, pulling clear of India and the United Kingdom.

“Winning means everything to me and I hope to take advantage of being a winner in a productive manner,” the 61st Miss World said.

“I first and foremost want to help people in need. “I would like to help people like me. I am an orphan. I would also like to help the elderly and troubled teenagers. As many people as I can.”

The pageant was first held for the 1951 Festival of Britain and was staged in London until 1989. Former contestants include Oscar-winning US actress Halle Berry, a 1986 finalist, and 1994 winner Aishwarya Rai, the Indian movie star. It was announced that the Miss World final will go straight back to China for 2012, this time to Ordos in Inner Mongolia.