Miss World 2009 is form Gibraltar!

Gibraltar’s Kaiane Aldorino has been crowned Miss World 2009, outshining 111 other hopefuls at a glittering ceremony with a distinctly African flavour.

Gibraltar's got the Miss World 2009 crown

“Thank you South Africa, this is the most wonderful moment of my life,” said a tearful Ms Aldorino, a 22-year-old human resources clerk.

Confetti rained down on the stage as the beauty from the tiny British territory of fewer than 30,000 people accepted the crown in South Africa.

Mexico’s Perla Beltran was second, with South African entry Tatum Keshwar taking third place.

African drums, gumboot dancers, choirs and a local pop band performed during the pageant held in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.

The ceremony was broadcast to an estimated one billion viewers around the world.

Among the disappointed contestants was Miss England, a soldier dubbed Combat Barbie by the British media.

Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, a 22-year-old who has served in Iraq, was granted leave from the military for the one-month tour of South Africa, where before the live broadcast the contestants competed in sports, a talent showcase and, of course, the swimsuit competition.

Miss India, Pooja Chopra, a hot favourite with the flag-waving international crowd, was eliminated in the top 16 after winning the Beauty with a Purpose title for her charity work.

India and Venezuela have produced the most Miss Worlds, with five titleholders each.

Controversy

Also losing out was Miss Indonesia, Kerenina Halim, who was the subject of a last-minute legal battle with a South African weekly that reported on her public comments about her ties to an American religious cult.

According to a report by the Mail and Guardian, Ms Halim belongs to The Family International, which has been mired in child and sexual abuse allegations by former members.

Ms Halim, 23, told the Jakarta Globe that she is a member of the church for which she did humanitarian work after the Asian tsunami in 2004.

Pageant organisers lost a court battle to quash the story.

Meanwhile, the city of Johannesburg has been lambasted in local media for spending 90 million rand ($12 million) to host the event as its council is battling to meet basic service demands by the poor.

But organisers did not let the controversy affect the glittering ceremony, where reigning Miss World Ksenia Sukhinova, 22, from Russia, handed over the crown.

Entry Credit: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/odd/6579831/gibraltar-wins-miss-world-crown/