The venue was a good choice for the pageant. Seoul is a combination of both modern and old culture which may have served as a very educational trip for most of the constestants, as well as the viewers.
The stage was beautiful and patterned from the Korean symbol of a swirl. At first it seemed kind of unbalanced but the cameramen did a great job of getting the right angle to make it even more spectacular. The opening number, which included traditional Korean dance and costumes added a different touch to the number.
The parade of nations showcased the traditional national costumes but got out of sync when Miss Bolivia interrupted Miss Bermuda and spoke out of turn. The alphabetical order of introduction got screwed up but thanks to Miss Korea, who had let Miss Japan introduce herself first to correct the problem...good thinking Miss Korea!!! However, because of that, the TV audience never go to see Miss Japan at all.
Miss New Zealand, Miss Philippines and Miss Tahiti got my attention right away...and Miss USA was not far behind thereafter. There were quite a few good contenders for the title but you kinda had an immediate hunch on who would be in the semi finals.
TOP 12 PRELIMINARY SCORES
Miss Scotland - 7.785
Miss Sweden - 7.572
Miss Puerto Rico - 7.885
Miss New Zealand - 7.885
Miss Panama - 7.514
Miss Korea - 7.525
Miss Canada - 7.711
Miss Tahiti - 7.566
Miss Colombia - 7.531
Miss USA - 8.480
Miss Philippines - 7.662
Miss Iceland - 7.636
Nothing much to say about the swimsuit competition except Helen started reading Miss Scotland's statistics before Bob Barker even introduced her. But it got corrected and went on just fine.
The evening gown presentation was quite unique because 8 Korean folk dancers with feathered fans served as an opening door as each contestants got introduced. Miss Philippines, in a very elegant, blue, serpentine gown, in my opinion, was the best of all twelve. She looked great in it and should have won that category. However, Miss USA still grabbed the judges votes.
SEMI FINAL SCORES
Miss Scotland - (INT)8.036 - (SS)8.273 - (EG)8.567 = 8.192
Miss Sweden - (INT)8.208 - (SS)8.250 - (EG)8.346 = 8.268
Miss Puerto Rico - (INT)7.850 - (SS)7.892 - (EG)7.867 = 7.870
Miss New Zealand - (INT)8.283 - (SS)8.400 - (EG)8.400 = 8.361
Miss Panama - (INT)7.713 - (SS)7.742 - (EG)7.825 = 7.760
Miss Korea - (INT)7.658 - (SS)7.750 - (EG)7.967 = 7.792
Miss Canada - (INT)7.992 - (SS)8.200 - (EG)8.100 = 8.097
Miss Tahiti - (INT)6.957 - (SS)7.858 - (EG)8.067 = 7.627
Miss Colombia - (INT)7.789 - (SS)7.729 - (EG)7.842 = 7.787
Miss USA - (INT)8.317 - (SS)8.718 - (EG)8.883 = 8.639
Miss Philippines - (INT)8.121 - (SS)8.033 - (EG)8.433 = 8.196
Miss Iceland - (INT)7.675 - (SS)7.942 - (EG)7.933 = 7.850
As you can tell, it was kind of obvious who the judges were rooting for. However, just to make a point regarding the final question, Miss Scotland was number 5 going into the finals but still ended up as 1st Runner Up. I believe that the final question has a lot to do with the final results.4th Runner Up - Miss Sweden
3rd Runner Up - Miss Philippines
2nd Runner Up - Miss New Zealand
1st Runner Up - Miss Scotland
1980 MISS UNIVERSE - MISS USA (SHAWN WEATHERLY)
OFF TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK FOR THE 1981 MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT!!!
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