| Miss World 2002 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Miss World 2002 titleholder – Azra Akın | |
| Date | 7 December 2002 |
| Presenters | |
| Entertainment | |
| Venue | Alexandra Palace, London, United Kingdom |
| Broadcaster | E! |
| Entrants | 88 |
| Placements | 20 |
| Debuts | |
| Withdrawals | |
| Returns | |
| Winner | Azra Akın[2] Turkey |
Miss World 2002, the 52nd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 7 December 2002 at the Alexandra Palace in London, United Kingdom. It was initially intended to be staged in Abuja, but due to religious riots in the nearby city of Kaduna (the "Miss World riots") the pageant was relocated to London.
A total of 110 contestants from all over the world were initially invited to compete for the crown, but several contestants boycotted the pageant and others dropping out in protest for the death sentence by stoning determined by an Islamic Sharia court to Amina Lawal, a Nigerian woman accused of adultery, making a total of 88 girls competing for the crown. It was the first time that audience participation through text messaging together with the scores of the judges helped in determining the results for the Top 20.[3] Azra Akın from Turkey won the pageant,[2] becoming the first ever representative from her country to be crowned Miss World. She was crowned by Agbani Darego of Nigeria. Show organizers stated that the event had a global viewership of over 2 billion people, and that it was broadcast in 137 countries.[2] It was the first time in 51 years that it was not shown in the UK;[4] no British channel agreed to broadcast the event.[2][5]
- ^ "The Tuscaloosa News". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Daily News". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ "Philippine Daily Inquirer". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ "Morley's global vision for Miss World". The Daily Telegraph. 21 June 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ Freeman, Hadley (7 December 2002). "Dogged by criticism and ridicule, the Miss World pageant continues". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2019.