Spain wins Miss World 2015

The new Miss World waving to the crowd   (C)EPA

Spain's Mireia Lalaguna Royo was named the winner of the Miss World 2015 competition on Saturday night in the southern Chinese island resort of Sanya, an event dogged by controversy over China's refusal to allow Canada's entrant to attend. Sofia Nikitchuk of Russia was the runner-up and Indonesia's Maria Harfanti took third place in the final following a lengthy competition featuring 114 women. The victory marked the first-ever win for a Spanish contestant.
Lalaguna is a 23-year-old model from Barcelona with a degree in pharmacology who plans to pursue a master's degree in nutrition. She placed first in the competition's top model contest and appeared to impress the judges with her public speaking. Not present was Miss Canada, Chinese-born Anastasia Lin, who had been prevented from boarding her connecting flight to Sanya from Hong Kong last month after China refused her a visa.

Sofia Nikitchuk of Russia and Indonesia's Maria Harfanti were runners-up (C)GettyImages

China has hosted the competition seven times, starting in 2003, part of its attempts to project a more modern, outgoing image. However, the controversy over Lin's attendance illustrates the authoritarian communist government's determination to do so on its own terms, regardless of the cost to the country's reputation.
It was the second consecutive year that outside events intruded on the competition. Last year's contest in London was marred by the murder the month before of Miss Honduras and her sister in that country.
The first Miss World contest was held 64 years ago in Britain.