Miss Turkey wins controversy-marred beauty pageant

The troubled Miss World beauty pageant today crowned Miss Turkey the winner after the event was finally staged following weeks of controversy.

More than 2,000 people watched Azra Akin, 22, receive the accolade at Alexandra Palace in north London.

Runner-up was Miss Colombia, Natalia Peralta, and in third place was Miss Peru, Marina Mora, but the five entrants from Ireland and the UK failed to make it through to the last 20 in the semi-finals.

The event was due to take place in Nigeria but was hastily diverted to Britain when riots, sparked by a local newspaper article about the competition, left more than 200 people dead last month.

After the crowning ceremony, Miss World’s chairman Julia Morley remained positive and said she was “delighted” with the show and was “looking forward to next year”.

Mrs Morley, whose late husband Eric Morley created the competition in 1951, denied the future of Miss World was hanging in the balance due to a potential financial crisis.

She said: “I am not going to lose money because we look after our television rights.”

The contest was broadcast in 142 countries and claims to have attracted a global audience of more than two billion.

However, not a single Irish or UK television channel agreed to screen it and bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes refused to take bets on the competition.

The event had been dogged by problems from the start.

Even before the contestants reached Africa a number of entrants led by Miss Denmark, announced they were boycotting the competition over Nigeria’s decision to condemn a woman to death by stoning for committing adultery.

And violence erupted which left more than 200 dead when a local journalist wrote an article claiming the Islamic prophet Mohammad would have approved of the contest and would probably have married one of the contestants.

A further twist in the saga came earlier this week when the High Court granted an injunction for a Nigerian arts dealer and promoter to freeze the assets of Mrs Morley’s company, Miss World Holdings.

Angela Onyeador was granted the order after claiming she was owed nearly half a million pounds after agreeing to act as guarantor for the Miss World gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London last month.

But Mrs Morley today insisted she did not owe any money to the arts dealer, adding that the gala dinner had raised €750,000 for children’s charities.

She said: “She wants her charity money and I think that’s an ungracious thing to want.”

Miss Turkey, dressed in a gold and red floral dress with matching high boots, said she was “honoured” to be the new Miss World and that she hoped to “make a difference”.

Raised in The Netherlands by Turkish parents, Miss Akin has just completed her secondary school education.