Miss World 1956


Miss World 1956 was the sixth Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom, on 15 October 1956.
At the conclusion of the event, Susana Duijm of Venezuela crowned Petra Schürmann of West Germany as Miss World 1956. This is the first victory of West Germany in the history of the pageant.
The announcement of the winner led to some confusion during the ceremony. Initially, Betty Lane Cherry of the United States was mistakenly announced as the winner when she received the winner's sash. However, it was later clarified that she was the first runner-up. In response to the mix-up, she stated, "Two seconds don't make one first."
Contestants from twenty-four countries participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.

Background

Selection of participants

Twenty-four contestants were selected to compete in the pageant.

Debuts, returns and withdrawals

This edition marked the debut of Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia, and the returns of Egypt, Switzerland and Turkey, which last competed in 1954.
Maureen Kistle of Australia withdrew after deciding to make her trip to London in December, leaving her without the financial support to return in October before her national title was awarded. As a result, Eric Morley sent a letter to Australian newspapers seeking a replacement for Kistle, but none emerged. Marcia Rodríguez of Cuba did not participate for undisclosed reasons. Ceylon, Honduras, and Monte-Carlo withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Marthe Niankoury of Côte d'Ivoire was supposed to participate, but she was unable to do so due to visa problems. Leda Brandão Rau of Brazil and Dorothy Moreau of Canada were also supposed to participate. However, they were unable to do so due to budget constraints. Lola Sabogal of Peru was also invited to compete, but she did not compete for undisclosed reasons.

Results

Placements

Contestants

Twenty-four contestants competed for the title.
CountryContestantAgeHometown
Austria