The opening scene showed an aerial view of St. Louis, with it's glittering lights. The theme song chosen was most appropriate, "Meet me in St. Louis". They showed the contestants riding horse driven floats, on the way the auditorium. The stage was very simple...decorated with national flags of the countries participating in the pageant. As the parade of nations started, I knew it would be another European sweep of the top 12....and I was right. 7 out of the twelve are European delegates. My favorite contestant that year was Miss Italy. I still think to this day that she is one of the most beautiful Miss Universe contestants ever.
Miss New Zealand - 8.325
Miss Italy - 8.158
Miss Singapore - 8.222
Miss Venezuela - 8.464
Miss Ireland - 8.353
Miss Norway - 8.089
Miss Switzerland - 8.395
Miss Spain - 8.098
Miss England - 8.385
Miss Finland - 8.143
Miss USA - 8.708
Miss Germany - 8.091
The interview portion was quite entertaining, especially with Miss Singapore. She was asked how she liked the fashion of American women and she candidly responded,"I like it, it's very casual, jeans and t-shirts!" Then she was asked what she enjoyed most about being in the United States and she answered, "eating strawberries!". Then came Miss Spain, who Bob Barker thought did not need an interpreter, so, he went on asking her questions while Miss Spain just looked at him with a "I have no idea what you're talking about, help!" kind of look.
The swimsuit competition stage was a replica of the Crystal Palace, which was built in St. Louis during the 1904 World's Fair and dancing fountains in the background to top it off. Miss Spain was just plagued with misfortunes because after the embarrasing interview, she made a mistake on the swimsuit competition as well. When a contestant gets introduced, they were supposed to walk from the first marker to the second one, then down the stairs and into the front. Instead, she went from the first marker, straight on down the stairs, which confused the cameramen and was not able to focus on her properly.
1983 was there year the little sisters began...where each contestant was assigned a little sister and serenades them during the evening gown competition. Their signature song, "You Are My Universe" and "You Are So Beautiful" became a tradition. These little girls are from the host country and an adorable addition to the Miss Universe presentation.
Miss New Zealand - (INT)9.081 - (SS)9.177 - (EG)9.358 = 9.205
Miss Italy - (INT)8.644 - (SS)8.922 - (EG)9.016 = 8.861
Miss Singapore - (INT)8.658 - (SS)8.766 - (EG)9.161 = 8.862
Miss Venezuela - (INT)8.666 - (SS)9.088 - (EG)9.338 = 9.031
Miss Ireland - (INT)9.244 - (SS)9.161 - (EG)9.192 = 9.199
Miss Norway - (INT)8.486 - (SS)8.505 - (EG)8.822 = 8.604
Miss Switzerland - (INT)9.138 - (SS)9.220 - (EG)9.338 = 9.232
Miss Spain - (INT)8.261 - (SS)8.577 - (EG)8.788 = 8.542
Miss England - (INT)9.027 - (SS)9.244 - (EG)9.172 = 9.147
Miss Finland - (INT)8.427 - (SS)8.888 - (EG)9.144 = 8.820
Miss USA - (INT)8.916 - (SS)9.333 - (EG)9.455 = 9.234
Miss Germany - (INT)8.872 - (SS)9.094 - (EG)9.322 = 9.096
I really thought that Miss USA, Julie Hyack had the crown on her hands from the beginning but the final question made an impact again on the judges final votes. I was not at all disappointed that Miss Zealand won instead because I feel that she is a very charming, sophisticated and well mannered woman. I probably would have broken down with hives if Miss England or Miss Ireland would have won.
4th Runner Up - Miss England
3rd Runner Up - Miss Switzerland
2nd Runner Up - Miss Ireland
1st Runner Up - Miss USA
Miss Universe 1983 - Miss New Zealnd (Lorraine Downs)
THE PAGEANT HEADS BACK TO ITS ROOTS AS WE HEAD TO MIAMI, FLORIDA FOR THE 1984 MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT!!!
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