THE OPENING SONG, the "Theme from New York, New York", is so appropriate for this year's pageant. We see the candidates strutting and singing along the stage. A voiceover introduces musical guest Peter Allen, the cast of "42nd Street", current titleholder Shawn Weatherley, hostess Elke Sommer, host Bob Barker, and the Naval Command Choir.

      The Parade of Nations follows. Bob Barker doesn't call out the names of the countries as he used to in the past. We see contestants from Fiji, St. Kitts, Transkei, Western Samoa, and Gibraltar. Elke Sommer greets televiewers in different languages and explains the electronic judging system. This segment is followed by the swimsuit competition (featuring New York scenes). (*** Note: Miss Mauritius did not complete the preliminary competition.)

      Bob Barker announces the 12 Semi-finalists with their preliminary scores which appear on the screen. Each candidate is interviewed in sets of two. They are: Misses HOLLAND (Ingrid Schouten), ECUADOR (Lucia Vinueza), NEW ZEALAND (Donella Clemmence), SWEDEN (Eva Lundgren), BRAZIL (Adriana Alves de Oliveira), USA (Kim Seelbrede), NORWAY (Mona Olsen), VENEZUELA (Irene Saez), BELGIUM (Dominique Van Eeckhoudt), GERMANY (Marion Kurz), TAHITI (Tatiana Teraiamano), and CANADA (Dominique Dufour). Most endearing interviewee: Miss Belgium. When Bob asked Dominique which U.S. state she liked the most, she replied, "I remember Georgie... it was so strange!" Laughter from the audience.
(*** Note: After the first set of semi-finalists were interviewed, Elke Sommer shows viewers flashbacks of past Miss Universe sites, from 1972 to 1980.).

      Peter Allen provides entertaintment by playing the piano and dancing. Bob Barker introduces the judges: Lauren Hollander (conductor), Itzak Kohl (President of Israeli Actors' Guild), Corinne Tsopie (Miss Universe 1964), Leroy Nieman (artist), Julio Iglesias (Spanish singer), Sammy Cahn (U. S. songwriter), Mary McFadden (U. S. fashion designer), Pele (Brazilian ex-soccer player), Chang Kang Chae (chairman of Korea Times), Anna Mafo (singer), Lee Majors (actor), and David Merrick (Broadway producer). Elke Sommer chats with Miss Venezuela in English, and then briefly in Spanish. (Trivia: in 1982, Karen Baldwin would also be interviewed in the dressing room and eventually won!)

      Musical salute to New York (with Peter Allen, Shawn Weatherly, and the candidates). This segment is followed by the swimsuit competition, and then by Shawn who features the sights and sounds of New York City. The evening gown competition (Peter Allen plays the piano as each candidate steps down a staircase, poses on the piano, and then onto another set of stairs.)

      Meanwhile, Elke Sommer presents us with a little bit of pageant history: "What happens when the winner is announced? She opens her mouth!" Elke features an album of past Miss Universe winners (black and white photos of winners from 1952-1967) and a footage of moments when winners were announced (1968-1980) as they all opened their mouths in awe.

      In the soap box, Elke Sommer chats with Margaret Gardiner, Miss Universe 1978. Then Bob Barker explains that the judges evaluate facial beauty as the finalists are serenaded by the naval choir. Bob reintroduces Shawn who does her farewell walk and speech. Finally, Bob Barker announces the results: the 4th runner-up is Miss Belgium; the 3rd runner-up is Miss Brazil; the 2nd runner-up is Miss Sweden; the 1st runner-up is Miss Canada and Miss Universe 1981 is Miss Venezuela (Margaret Gardiner presents the winner with a bouquet). Elke Sommer closes the show and waves goodbye to the audience.

Photo courtesy of the Miss Universe Organization

Text by Rafael Robert Delfin

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2006 CRITICAL BEAUTY. All rights reserved.