Miss World 2006 was the 56th 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, Mi ...

pageant, held at the Sala Kongresowa, a theatre at the

Palace of Culture and Science The Palace of Culture and Science (; abbreviated ''PKiN'') is a notable high-rise building in central Warsaw, Poland. With a total height of , it is the second tallest building in both Warsaw and Poland (after the Varso Tower), the sixth talle ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland, on 30 September 2006. It was the first time ever that the pageant was held in the

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

and a European city other than

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At the end of the event, Taťána Kuchařová of

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

was crowned by the previous winner Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. This is the first time the

won the title of Miss World, and its first crown in the

Big Four international beauty pageants The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women — Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the ''China Daily'' newspaper in ...

. A total of 104 countries competed in the pageant.

Background

Location

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

was the host of the Beach Beauty contest,

Giżycko Giżycko (former or ''Łuczany''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is ...

hosted the Miss Sports contest and

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

hosted the Miss Talent competition. The fourth event was Beauty with a Purpose.

Selection of participants

Contestants from 104 countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant.

Replacements

Miss France Miss France is a national beauty pageant in France held annually in December. The competition was first held in 1920, and has been organized continuously since 1947. The trademark for the pageant is owned by the company Miss France SAS, and is ...

2004, Laetitia Bleger was appointed to represent France at Miss World 2006, but however her Playboy pictures of May 2005 prevented her from taking part and she got suspended for 6 months by the Miss France Organization. Then the Miss France committee named the new Miss France 2006, Alexandra Rosenfeld as the French representative in Miss World 2006, but due to the fact that she had to go first to

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss U ...

and later to Miss Europe 2006 contest, was finally replaced by her second runner-up, Laura Fasquel. Miss Latvia 2005, Kristīne Djadenko was supposed to participate in Miss World 2006. However a month before the start of the competition was replaced by Līga Meinarte. Nevertheless, Djadenko participated next year at

Miss World 2007 Miss World 2007 was the 57th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China, on December 1, 2007. Taťána Kuchařová of the Czech Republic crowned Zhang Zilin of China as her successor at the end of ...

. Miss España 2006, Elizabeth Reyes was supposed to participate in Miss World 2006 after the

contest. However she was replaced by her first runner-up, Inmaculada Torres.

Debuts, returns, and, withdrawals

This edition marked the debut of Cambodia, Montenegro and Serbia, and the return of Angola, Austria, Belarus, Cayman Islands, Chile, Curaçao, Finland, French Polynesia, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe; Austria, which last competed in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, French Polynesia (as Tahiti) in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and Angola, Belarus, Cayman Islands, Chile, Curaçao, Finland, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Albania, Malawi, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Serbia and Montenegro, Swaziland, Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda, and the United States Virgin Islands, withdrew from the competition.

Results

Placements

Continental Queens of Beauty

Special awards

Best World Dress Designer

Challenge Events

Fast Track Events

During the month of September four competitions were held from which the winner of each was fast tracked into the semi-finals. Beach Beauty was selected on 7 September in the city of

. Miss Sports was held on 12 September in the city of Gizycko and the Miss Talent contest was celebrated on 20 September at

. The Beauty with a Purpose winner was announced on 30 September during the final telecast.

''Beach Beauty''

''Miss Sports''

''Miss Talent''

''Beauty with a Purpose''

Judges

* Julia Morley – Chairwoman of the Miss World Organization * Aneta Kręglicka – Miss World 1989 from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

* Denise van Outen – Actress and TV presenter *

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

– Leading Indian director known worldwide for his award-winning movies *

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...

– British multiple Olympic gold medalist * Krish Naidoo – Miss World International Ambassador *

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

– Irish entertainment manager behind some of the world's leading pop acts * Mike Dixon – West End and Broadway award-winner musical director * Wilnelia Merced – Miss World 1975 from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Contestants

104 contestants competed for the title.

Notes

Withdrawals

* - Miss World Belize 2006, Felicita (Leesha) Arzu was crowned on 29 July, but the organizers decided that she would take part at

. * – Miss Egypt 2006, Fawzia Mohamed had visa problems. No Shows: * – No contest * – Due to financial problems. * – Martha Ramirez * - Ramata Barry * - No contest * - Alima Diomandé * - Peth Msiska * – No contest due to the

Nepalese Civil War The Nepalese Civil War was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the then Kingdom of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. It saw countrywide fighting between the Kingdom rulers and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), with the latter making ...

. It was postponed until 2007. * - No contest * - Due to Financial problems. * – Due to Financial problems. * – Eboundt Fatouma Blanda * – No contest * - Due to scheduling conflicts, the national pageant was held on 9 September making the 2006 winner ineligible to compete, plus no finalists of Miss Switzerland 2005 pageant were available to compete. After that Switzerland did not send a contestant to the Miss World contest until 2013. * – No contest * as American Virgin Islands - No contest

Replacements

* – Miss Uruguay Mundo 2006, Soledad Gagliardo was replaced by her first runner up, Marlene Politi for unknown reasons.

References

{{Miss World countries and territories Miss World 2006 in Poland 2006 beauty pageants Beauty pageants in Poland September 2006 in Poland 2000s in Warsaw Events in Warsaw