Who will be the next Miss World?

As I’ve been telling you, you can help the official board of judges choose this year’s Miss World from among the 105 candidates from the same number of countries all over the world (with China joining the contest for the first time), the biggest number of beauty aspirants in any international competition ever.

All you have to do is dial the Philippines’ assigned number – take note: (00)+44-706-994-9073 and not, repeat NOT, the numbers wrongly printed by Funfare last Friday, Nov. 9 – and vote for your top three choices (if you’re feeling "nationalistic," you may include Bb. Pilipinas-World Gilrhea Quinzon in your list).

It’s the first time such a "public voting system" is being introduced in an international beauty contest. The official voting began last Nov. 9 during the swimsuit competition telecast live to several countries around the world, the Philippines included, from Sun City, South Africa, by IBC 13 which is also covering "live" the grand coronation night tomorrow (Nov. 17), from 5 to 8 a.m. (with a replay at 9 p.m. to 12 midnight).

You can still cast your votes until tomorrow’s final competition. Votes gathered around the world through telephone (each country has a specific number to call) will constitute 20 percent of the decisive and final vote, with the remaining 80 percent coming from the board of judges.

If you watched the swimsuit competition, you must have noticed that there are so many beautiful contestants that it’s hard to pick just three. Now you know how hard it is to sit as judge in a beauty contest with such scope and magnitude.

The coverage of the 2001 Miss World contest is being undertaken by the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. (headed by Stella Marquez-Araneta) and Viva Television (headed by Vic del Rosario Jr.).

Last week, Funfare published the photos of some Miss World bets (including our very own Gilrhea Quinzon). Here are 10 other candidates. Who knows, one of them might be the next Miss World!