# Miss World 1979

Miss World 1979, the 29th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 15 November 1979 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. The winner was Gina Swainson from Bermuda. She was crowned by Miss World 1978, Silvana Suarez of Argentina. First runner-up was Carolyn Seaward representing the United Kingdom and second runner-up was Debbie Campbell from Jamaica. Swainson was a first runner-up in Miss Universe 1979 represented Bermuda and Carolyn Seaward was a second runner-up in same pageant represented England.
Live television coverage of the contest was largely abandoned by the BBC as a result of a trade union dispute typical of the era in Britain, when sound engineers refused to work, and the BBC decided shortly beforehand that it could not show live pictures without a commentary. The parade of the contestants in their national costumes and each of the entrants in their evening wear had been recorded the night before, so this was televised, followed later in the evening with the crowning of the winner with mute pictures narrated by Ray Moore. A unscheduled repeat of Futtocks End was televised to bridge the two segments. For later overseas transmission, a commentary was added to the silent pictures of the entire event, but the interviews with the final 7 contestants were never shown.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss World 1979 | Bermuda – Gina Swainson |
| 1st Runner-up | United Kingdom – Carolyn Seaward |
| 2nd Runner-up | Jamaica – Debbie Campbell |
| 3rd Runner-up | Australia – Jodie Anne Day |
| 4th Runner-up | Switzerland – Barbara Meyer |
| Top 7 | Brazil – Lea Silvia Dall'acqua  Austria – Karin Zorn |
| Top 15 | Germany – Andrea Hontschik†  Malaysia – Shirley Chew  Mexico – Roselina Rosas Torres  Panama – Lorelay de la Ossa  Spain – María Dolores Forner Toro  Trinidad and Tobago – Marlene Coggins  United States – Carter Wilson  Uruguay – Laura Rodríguez Delgado |

## Contestants

| Country | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Argentina | Verónica Ivonne Gargani | 19 | Buenos Aires |
| Aruba | Vianca van Hoek | 20 | Oranjestad |
| Australia | Jodie Anne Day | 18 | Brisbane |
| Austria | Karin Zorn | 18 | Weiz |
| Bahamas | Deborah Major | 20 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Christine Cailliau | 23 | Brussels |
| Bermuda | Gina Swainson | 21 | St. George's Parish |
| Bolivia | Patricia Asbún | 20 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Brazil | Léa Sílvia dall’Acqua | 20 | Campinas |
| Canada | Catherine Mackintosh | 23 | Thunder Bay |
| Cayman Islands | Jennifer Jackson | 21 | George Town |
| Chile | Marianela Toledo | 19 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Rosaura Rodríguez | 17 | Cartagena |
| Costa Rica | Marianela Brealey | 17 | San José |
| Cyprus | Eliana Djiaboura | 24 | Nicosia |
| Denmark | Lone Jörgensen | 18 | Holstebro |
| Dominican Republic | Sabrina Brugal | 18 | Santo Domingo |
| Ecuador | Olba Padilla | 18 | Guayaquil |
| El Salvador | Ivette Lopez | 19 | San Salvador |
| Finland | Tuire Pentikäinen | 23 | Helsinki |
| France | Sylvie Parera | 18 | Marseille |
| Germany | Andrea Hontschik | 20 | Berlin |
| Gibraltar | Audrey Lopez | 21 | Gibraltar |
| Greece | Mika Dimitropoulou | 17 | Athens |
| Guam | Anne-Marie Franke | 18 | Hagatna |
| Guatemala | Michele Domínguez | 19 | Guatemala City |
| Holland | Nannetje Nielen | 22 | Amsterdam |
| Honduras | Gina Maria Weidner | 18 | San Pedro Sula |
| Hong Kong | Mary Ng | 21 | Kowloon Bay |
| Iceland | Sigrún Sætran | 24 | Reykjavík |
| India | Raina Mendonica | 22 | Bombay |
| Ireland | Maura McMenamim | 21 | Dublin |
| Isle of Man | Kathleen Mary Craig | 17 | Douglas |
| Israel | Dana Feller | 19 | Tel Aviv |
| Italy | Rossana Serratore | 18 | Asti |
| Jamaica | Debbie Campbell | 17 | Kingston |
| Japan | Motomi Hibino | 19 | Nagoya |
| Jersey | Treena Foster | 21 | Saint Helier |
| Korea | Hong Yeo-jin | 21 | Seoul |
| Lebanon | Jacqueline Riachi | 19 | Beirut |
| Lesotho | Pauline Essie Kanedi | 22 | Maseru |
| Malaysia | Shirley Chew | 18 | Kangar |
| Malta | Elena Christine Abela | 17 | Sliema |
| Mauritius | Maria Allard | 24 | Port Louis |
| Mexico | Roselina Rosas Torres | 19 | Durango City |
| New Zealand | Nicola Duckworth | 17 | Auckland |
| Nigeria | Helen Prest | 20 | Ibadan |
| Norway | Jeanette Aarum | 20 | Fredrikstad |
| Panama | Lorelay de la Ossa | 19 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | Martha Galli | 19 | Asunción |
| Peru | Magali Pérez-Godoy | 18 | Lima |
| Philippines | Josefina Francisco | 18 | Manila |
| Portugal | Ana Gonçalves Vieira | 18 | Lisbon |
| Puerto Rico | Daisy López | 18 | San Juan |
| Singapore | Violet Lee | 20 | Singapore |
| Spain | Dolores Forner | 19 | Madrid |
| Sri Lanka | Shamila Weerasooriya | 17 | Colombo |
| Swaziland | Gladys Carmichael | 17 | Manzini |
| Sweden | Ing-Marie Säveby | 19 | Stockholm |
| Switzerland | Barbara Mayer | 21 | Marly |
| Tahiti | Thilda Fuller | 24 | Pape'ete |
| Thailand | Tipar Suparbpun | 22 | Bangkok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Marlene Coggins | 21 | San Fernando |
| Turkey | Sebnem Unal | 18 | Istanbul |
| United Kingdom | Carolyn Seaward | 20 | Yelverton |
| United States | Carter Wilson | 23 | Harrisonburg |
| United States Virgin Islands | Jasmine Olivia Turner | 17 | Saint Croix |
| Uruguay | Laura Rodríguez | 21 | Montevideo |
| Venezuela | Tatiana Capote | 18 | Barinas |
| Western Samoa | Danira Schwalger | 19 | Apia |