Rolene Strauss from South Africa, Crowned Miss World 2014

– By Rojin Shakya-
The 22-year-old Miss South Africa and med student Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 at the gala event of finals in London on 14th December 2014 staged at Excel ExCel London Exhibition and Convention Centre, London, U.K. Megan Young of Philippines crowned her successor Rolene Strauss of South Africa at the end of the event.

A test tube baby Strauss is a bilingual and speaks fluent English and Afrikaans. Strauss is a model and stands 5 feet nine and half inches tall. Miss World 2014, the 64th edition of the Miss World pageant saw 121 delegates round the world. After parading in their national costumes, showing off their dance moves and performing in the evening gowns, Miss World 2014 moved towards the selection of the winner of this year. Reigning Miss World 2013 Megan Young, the Welsh actor and TV presenter Tim Vincent, and Mr. World Canada 2013 were the hosts for the event.

In the event Edina Kulcsar from Hungary bagged the first runner-ups whereas Elizabeth Safrit from United States was chosen as the second runner-ups. Australia and England made up to top five while India, Guyana, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and Thailand were able to enter top 11 phase.

Among the continental Queens of Beauty, Rolene Strauss from South Africa also became the winner from Africa, Elizabeth Safrit from United States was the winner from Americas while Koyal Rana from India was declared as the winner from Asia. Dhio Moreno from Dominican Republic was awarded as the winner from Carribbean while Edina Kulcar was awarded as the winner from Europe while Courtney Thorpe became the winner from Oceania. Miss Nepal 2014, Subin Limbu represented Nepal at Miss World 2014 but could not earn any remarkable achievements besides being in the top 10 of People’s Choice Award.
The event saw performances from Grammy award-nominated and multi-platinum artist Sky Blu from LMFAO and British boy band The Vamps. The event also featured a special 20-year award for 1994’s Miss World, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai. The 41-year-old Indian actress was awarded for the charitable work with children with cleft palates since being made famous by Miss World.

Winners in other categories:
Talent: Dewi Liana Seriestha, Malaysia
Top Model: Isidora Borovcanin, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Beach Fashion: Olivia Asplund, Sweden
Multimedia Award: Elizabeth Safrit, United States
Beauty with a Purpose: Julia Gama, Brazil.
Rafieya Husain, Guyana. Koyal Rana, India.
Maria Sastrayu, Indonesia and Idah Nguma, Kenya
The People’s Choice: Nonthawan Thongleng, Thailand
World Fashion Designer Dress: Koyal Rana, India