Miss World 1956, the 6th edition of the

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

pageant, was held on 15 October 1956 at the

Lyceum Ballroom The Lyceum Theatre ( ) is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnol ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. 24 contestants competed for title of Miss World. The winner was

Petra Schürmann Petra Schürmann-Freund (; 15 September 1933 – 14 January 2010) was a German actress, model, TV announcer and beauty queen who won Miss World 1956. Biography Schürmann won the 1956 Miss World contest, representing West Germany. ...

, who represented

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She was crowned by Miss World 1955,

Susana Duijm Carmen Susana Duijm Zubillaga (August 11, 1936 – June 18, 2016) was a Venezuelan actress, television host, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Venezuela 1955 and competed at Miss Universe 1955, placing in the top 15. She then went to com ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. The announcement of the winner was marked by a moment of confusion. The United States representative, Miss USA 1956 first runner-up Betty Lane Cherry, was given the winner's sash to wear just before the ceremony, and briefly it was reported that she was the winner. She ultimately was named as the first runner-up, commenting to the press that "two seconds don't make one first".

Results

Contestants

* – Margaret Scherz * – Madeleine Hotelet * – Anne Rye Nielsen * – Norma Dugo * – Sirpa Helena Koivu * – Geneviève Solare * –

* – Iris Alice Kathleen Waller * – Maria Paraloglou * – Ans van Pothoven * – Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir * – Amy Kelly * – Rina Weiss * – Angela Portaluri * – Midoriko Tokura * – Lydia Marin * – Jeannette de Montalk * – Norma Vorster * – Eva Bränn * – Yolanda Daetwyler * – Pascaline Agnes * – Suna Tekin * – Betty Lane Cherry * – Celsa Pieri

Notes

Debuts

* * * * *

Returns

Last competed in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

: * * *

Withdrawals

* * * * *

References

External links

Miss World official website
{{Miss World Miss World 1956 in London 1956 beauty pageants Beauty pageants in the United Kingdom October 1956 events in the United Kingdom