Miss World 2001 Agbani Darego, from Nigeria, placed her crown on the head of Azra Akin from Turkey, who was chosen Miss World 2002 on Saturday December 7th. Miss Turkey's victory represented the triumph of the natural, the spontaneous, the down-to-earth and fashionable beauty.
Akin was said to have the profile of today's beauty queen, and couldn't have been a better choice for the crown. Azra is Turkey's first Miss World ever. As a matter of fact, it is the first time Turkey wins any of the three main beauty titles in the world.
Miss Colombia, the first runner-up, had been reported as one of the most beautiful faces in the competition since the very beginning. The 2nd runner-up, Miss Peru, was also expected to do well, despite the plastic surgery she openly spoke about weeks before the pageant.
Bethany Kehdy from Lebanon was among the top ten chosen contestants of the pageant. Her success in the pageant gave light to the capabilities of the Arab woman to shine among the beautiful women of the world. She is currently studying Environmental Health and business, with an ambition to become a lawyer and have her own law practice.
The contest received a lot of media attention for the wrong reasons. Originally scheduled to be held in Lagos, Nigeria, the event had to be shifted to London after protests against the pageant dubbing it as offensive to the Muslim population caused large-scale rioting that took the lives of 200 people. Islamic organizations were against the pageant being held in Nigeria, particularly in November, which coincided with the Muslim Fasting Month of Ramadam. Several groups had indicated their desire to openly protest against the event, the first to be hosted by Nigeria. The organizer of the event Julia Morsley then moved the pageant to London.
According to the London based Elaph, organizers say the show, whose motto was "beauty with a purpose," had a global audience of more than two billion. In Britain, however, where the pageant is widely seen as a quaint, it was not aired on any of its live television channels. – Albawaba.com
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
