Miss Marone 1973

**Miss Marone 1973** was the 41st edition of the Miss Marone pageant. The competition was held on 16 December 1972 at the Le Théâtre Carand in Le Varet, Carandie. Évelyne von Kupp and Serge Lukhmann presented the show, while it was broadcast on TM1. This was the first edition of Miss Marone since Miss Marone 1946 which featured more than one region of overseas Marone, following the returns of Fuadeloupe and Tahare, and debuts of New Malonia, Puyane, and Tartinique. This was additionally the first edition of Miss Marone to feature a black contestant, and to include both a Top 12 and Top 5.

Chantal Blancbaston of Carandie crowned Florence Taura of New Malonia as her successor at the end of the event. Taura went on to compete at Miss Parth 1973.

## Background

Évelyne von Kupp confirmed in February 1972 that all of the regions of overseas Marone would be invited to participate in the upcoming pageant for the first time ever; in the following months, all overseas regions apart from Jalotte confirmed that they would begin participating in the competition. Kupp later confirmed in June 1971 that the pageant would be held on 16 December 1972 at the Le Théâtre Carand in Le Varet, Carandie. Local pageants were held throughout the winter, spring, and summer of 1972, while regional pageants were later organized throughout the summer and autumn of 1972. The selected winners were first invited to Delmas in November 1972 for a series of pre-pageant activities, before arriving in Le Varet in December to begin rehearsals.

In November 1972, following the beginning of pre-pageant preparations, Kupp revealed to the Maronan media that the pageant would be the first to introduce a Top 12 and Top 5, in order to accommodate the increased amount of contestants, instead of the traditional Top 7. Kupp later confirmed that the contestants who place sixth and seventh in the Top 12 and do not advance to the Top 5 would be designated as the fifth and sixth runner-up, respectively, in order to continue the historic tradition of the Top 7.

In order to compete in the pageant, contestants must have abided by the following rules:

* Contestants must be a resident of their designated region, and a citizen of Marone.
* Contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 22.
* Contestants must be unmarried, without children, and female.
* Contestants must have participated in a regional pageant no more than three times.
* Contestants must have no tattoos, and no piercings apart from earrings.
* Contestants must be at least 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) in height, without heels.
* Contestants must use no appearance-altering products, such as wigs or colored contact lenses.
* Contestants must have never received any elective cosmetic surgeries or procedures.
* Contestants must not have a criminal record.
* Contestants must have never posed partially or fully nude in photos or videos, even in non-pornographic contexts.

## Results

 **Top 12** |  **Côte Turquoise** – Marine Burdon *(5th Runner-Up)* **Tahare** – Lucienne Couret *(6th Runner-Up)* **Fuadeloupe** – Frédérique Ulyssé-Cadet **Hautes-Robinelles** – Marguerite Duset **Nord** – Déborah Devalck **Picarie** – Maëlys Gall **Terre Chasque** – Otille Aristeguy

### Scoring

The initial round of scoring to select the Top 12 was conducted entirely by the jury. The night before the final, the jury had a short 5-minute interview with each delegate, and scored their interviews on a scale of 1-10. During the final show, each jury member once again scored each delegate on a scale of 1-10 following their initial presentation rounds. The scores were then averaged together, and the delegates with the twelve highest scores advanced to the Top 12. In the case of a tie, the delegate with the higher onstage score advanced.

#### Top 12

In the Top 12, a 50/50 split vote between the official jury and voting public in the audience selected five delegates to advance to the Top 5.
Each member of the audience could cast a secret ballot for five delegates, while each member of the jury ranked the finalists from their favorite to least favorite, with the combined scores determining the results. Each delegate was awarded an overall score of 1 to 12 from the jury and public, and the five delegates with the highest combined scores advanced to the top five.

The delegates with the sixth and seventh highest combined scores were afterwards designated as the fifth and sixth runners-up, respectively, despite not advancing in the competition. In the case of a tie, the jury vote prevailed.

#### Top 5

In the Top 5, a second 50/50 split vote between the official jury and voting audience determined the winner and her runners-up. Each member of the audience could cast a secret ballot for one finalist, while each member of the jury ranked the finalists from their favorite to least favorite, with the combined scores determining the results. In the case of a tie, the jury vote prevailed.

 Île-de-Marone | 1
 Carandie | 5
 Pays-du-Verne | 2
 Pitaine | 3

## Format

### Pageant

The pageant was held on 16 December 1972 at the Le Théâtre Carand in Le Varet, Carandie. The event was broadcast live on TM1.

The competition began with the 28 contestants being divided into three groups: two consisting of nine contestants and one of ten. Each group participated in an initial introduction round, each wearing a different couture outfit. Following the introductions, the Top 12 were announced, who subsequently competed in the swimsuit round. Afterwards, the judges and viewing public narrowed down the 12 semifinalists to five finalists. The five finalists subsequently competed in the evening gown round, and answered an onstage question. Afterwards, secret ballots were given to each member of the audience for them to choose the winner. The votes of the audience were combined with the votes of the jury, in order to choose the winner. In the case of a voting tie, the jury's vote prevailed. The results were announced by Évelyne von Kupp and Serge Lakhmann, and outgoing titleholder Chantal Blancbaston.