Miss Earth 2009

Miss Earth 2009, the 9th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 22, 2009 at the Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines.^[1][2][3] Karla Henry of Philippines crowned her successor Larissa Ramos of Brazil at the end of the event.^[4][5][6]

Miss Earth 2009
Larissa Ramos
Date	November 22, 2009
Presenters	Borgy Manotoc Marc Nelson Sarah Meier
Entertainment	Nonoy Libanan
Venue	Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center, Boracay, Aklan, Philippines
Broadcaster	ABS-CBN Studio 23 The Filipino Channel
Entrants	80
Placements	16
Debuts	Gabon Tonga
Withdrawals	Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Congo Congo DR Croatia Curaçao Ethiopia Finland Germany Iraq Kazakhstan Liberia Lithuania Malawi Nicaragua Romania Rwanda Suriname Uganda Vietnam Zambia
Returns	Denmark Guatemala Hong Kong Kenya Nepal Paraguay Puerto Rico Samoa Ukraine
Winner	Larissa Ramos Brazil
Congeniality	Graziella Rogers, Switzerland
Best National Costume	Evelyne Almasi, Tanzania
Photogenic	Tereza Budková, Czech Republic
← 2008 2010 →

The pageant had 80 delegates from various countries and territories that vied for the Miss Earth crown.^[7][8] The pageant's Top 16 competed in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions to determine the Top 8, the first time since 2003.

The Miss Earth 2009 theme was "Green Lifestyle", in which the candidates were involved with environmental causes. The show was hosted by Marc Nelson, Sarah Meier, and Borgy Manotoc.^[4]

Results

Countries and territories that sent delegates and results

Placements

Placement	Contestant[9]
Miss Earth 2009	Brazil – Larissa Ramos
Miss Earth – Air 2009	Philippines – Sandra Seifert
Miss Earth – Water 2009	Venezuela – Jessica Barboza
Miss Earth – Fire 2009	Spain – Alejandra Echevarria
Top 8	Colombia – Alejandra Castillo  Martinique – Pascale Nelide  Poland – Izabela Wilczek  Thailand – Rujinan Phanseethum
Top 16	France – Magalie Thierry  Georgia – Nona Diakonidze  India – Shriya Kishore  South Korea – Ye-ju Park  Northern Ireland – Kayleigh O'Reilly  Paraguay – Gabriela Rejala  Singapore – Valerie Lim  South Africa – Chanel Grantham

Special awards

Major awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Friendship	Switzerland – Graziella Rogers
Miss Photogenic	Czech Republic – Tereza Budková
Miss Talent	Tahiti – Niuriki Teremate
Best in National Costume	Tanzania – Evelyne Almasi
Best in Evening Gown	Philippines – Sandra Seifert
Best in Swimsuit	Philippines – Sandra Seifert

Minor/Sponsor awards

Awards	Contestant
Best in Eco-Bag Design Wear	Czech Republic – Tereza Budková
Best in Eco-Design Wear	Jamaica – Jenaae Jackson
Best in Use of Indigenous Products Wear	Albania – Suada Saliu
Miss Fontana	China – Yan Xu
Pasigandahan Award	Guam – Maria Luisa Santos
Placenta Award	Puerto Rico – Dignelis Jiménez

Winning answer

For the 9th edition of Miss Earth, no single final question was asked. Instead, images were flashed on screen and each of the eight finalists was tasked to say something about it.^[10]

Statement of Miss Earth 2009: "I come from a country that has the largest rainforest in the world, and it is also known as the 'lungs of the world'. But we cannot just say that we are the 'lungs of the world' because my country produces a lot of air pollution as well." – Larissa Ramos, represented Brazil.^[10]

Preliminary events

Beauties for a Cause

The delegates of Miss Earth 2009 visited different islands of the Philippines with the theme "Green Lifestyle" and promoted the use of recyclable materials as part of a collective lifestyle. In addition, they engaged in different environmental activities including the planting of trees, and had school tours in the provinces of Ilocos, Laguna, Negros Occidental, Albay, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Pangasinan, Batangas, Iloilo, and Metro Manila.

Press Presentation

On 4 November 2009, the delegates were presented to the local and international media at Mader's Garden in Pasig. The women shared their environmental campaigns and expressed their cause on Mother Nature, a continuous campaign they have been waging as "Beauties for a Cause".^[11]

Press presentation photos

• 
  Larissa Ramos
  Miss Brazil
• 
  Alejandra Echevarria
  Miss Spain
• 
  Alejandra Castillo
  Miss Colombia
• 
  Ye-ju Park
  Miss Korea
• 
  Pascale Nelide
  Miss Martinique
• 
  Gabriela Rejala
  Miss Paraguay
• 
  Tereza Budková
  Miss Czech Republic
• 
  Diana Kubasova
  Miss Latvia
• 
  Madelyne M.Nandu
  Miss Malaysia
• 
  Natalia Quiñones
  Miss Mexico
• 
  Sarah Finlay
  Miss Scotland
• 
  Chen Yi-Wen
  Miss Chinese Taipei
• 
  Melinda Heffernan
  Miss Australia
• 
  Suada Saliu
  Miss Albania
• 
  Maja Jamnik and Lea Sindlerova
  Misses Slovenia and Miss Slovak Republic
• 
  Gisela Menossi
  Miss Argentina
• 
  Miss Earth Delegates

National Costume

The National costume competition of Miss Earth 2009 was held on 4 November 2009 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Grand Theater in Pasay.

Eighty delegates participated in the competition, with Miss Tanzania winning the Best in National Costume award. Minor/sponsor awards were also given that night which included the Placenta Award which was given to Miss Puerto Rico and Pasigandahan Award (the award name is a combination of the main river that passes through Manila and the Filipino word for beauty) which went to Miss Guam.^[11]

Coronation venue

For the first time, the pageant did not take place on the Island of Luzon. The venue for Miss Earth 2009 final night was initially to be in Cebu City, but the mayor declined due to the financial cost of sponsoring the pageant.^[12] Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center won the rights to host the coronation night of the 2009 edition of the pageant.^[13]

New crown

The Miss Earth organizers unveiled a new crown to be worn by the winner of Miss Earth 2009, with the preservation of planet Earth as its primary consideration. The crown was designed by an environmentalist jewelry designer from Florida, Ramona Haar, the official jeweller of the Miss Earth pageant.^[14]

The new crown is made of 100% recycled precious metals: 14kt gold and argentums sterling silver. The gemstones used were precious and semiprecious stones, and donations from over 80 participating countries. These are gemstones that each country is known for either as the origin or source. The gemstones were sent in various forms: faceted, cabochons, beads or rough. The designer travelled to Jaipur, India to have these gemstones individually trimmed and faceted to the required cut and sizes.^[14]

The flower in the center of the crown represents Mother Earth, as inspired by the statement of the American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The earth laughs in flowers". The recurring spiral motif has always been associated with "maternal power" and "feminine prestige" which is the essence of Miss Earth. The gentle curves in the crown symbolize "unity" and the "spirit of cooperation".^[14]

Contestants

Country/Terr.	Contestant	Age	Height	Hometown	Group
Albania	Suada Saliu[15]	22	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Lezha	1
Argentina	Gisela Menossi[16][17][18][19]	21	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Río Cuarto	2
Australia	Melinda Heffernan[20][21][19]	24	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Cremorne	1
Bahamas	Krystal Brown[22][19]	23	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Nassau	1
Belgium	Isabel van Hoof[23]	18	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Antwerp	2
Brazil	Larissa Ramos[24][25][19]	20	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Manaus	3
Canada	Lateesha Ector[26][19]	24	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Pierrefonds	2
China	Yan Xu[27]	20	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Shandong	1
Chinese Taipei	Chen Yi-Wen[19]	21	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Taipei	3
Colombia	Alejandra Castillo[28]	22	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Bogotá	1
Costa Rica	Malena Orozco[19]	21	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	Cartago	2
Cuba	Jamillette Gaxiola[29][19]	20	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Havana	1
Czech Republic	Tereza Budková[30][31][32][19]	19	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	Sezimovo Ústí	1
Denmark	Patrica Tjornelund[19]	22	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Copenhagen	1
Dominican Republic	Mariel Garcia[33]	24	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	San Francisco de Macoris	1
Ecuador	Diana Delgado[34]	25	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Manta	2
El Salvador	Mayra Aldana[35]	23	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	San Salvador	3
England	Kirsty Nichol[36]	19	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Islington	2
France	Magalie Thierry[37]	22	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Froideconche	3
Gabon	Marlyne Lea Ayenne[19]	22	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Libreville	1
Georgia	Nona Diakonidze[38]	19	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Tbilisi	1
Ghana	Mariam Abdul Rauf[19]	21	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Northern Region	2
Greece	Triantafyllia Sarantinou[39][40]	21	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Athens	3
Guadeloupe	Marie-Ange Seymour[19]	19	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Le Moule	2
Guam	Maria Luisa Santos[41][42][43][19]	24	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)	Dededo	3
Guatemala	Hamy Tejeda[19]	24	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	Guatemala City	3
Honduras	Alejandra Mendoza[44]	19	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	La Lima	3
Hong Kong	Wang Shan Shan[19]	20	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Xinjiang	1
Hungary	Korinna Kocsis[45]	18	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Jákfa	1
India	Shriya Kishore[46][47][48][19]	23	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Mumbai	2
Indonesia	Nadine Zamira Syarief[49]	25	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)	Jakarta	1
Israel	Noy Michaelov[50]	24	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Jerusalem	1
Italy	Luna Isabella Voce[51]	21	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	Milan	2
Jamaica	Jenaae Jackson[52][53][54][19]	19	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Kingston	1
Japan	Takada Tomomi[55]	22	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Tokyo	1
Kenya	Catherine Muturi[19]	24	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Gatundu	2
South Korea	Ye-ju Park[19]	22	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Seoul	2
Kosovo	Elsa Marku[19]	18	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Pristina	2
Latvia	Diana Kubasova[19]	20	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Riga	1
Lebanon	Nicole Lichaa Khoury[19]	18	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Beirut	3
Luxembourg	Theodora Bănică[56][57][58][19]	21	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	Luxembourg City	2
Macau	Jia Pei[19]	20	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Macau	3
Malaysia	Madelyne M.Nandu[19]	23	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Sabah	2
Malta	Alison Gallea Valletta[19]	21	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Attard	3
Martinique	Pascale Nelide[59][19]	18	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Fort de France	1
Mexico	Natalia Quiñones[60]	23	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Zapopan	3
Nepal	Richa Thapa Magar[61][19]	24	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)	Kathmandu	3
Netherlands	Sabrina Anijs[62][63][64][19]	21	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	The Hague	2
New Zealand	Catherine Irving[65][66][67][19]	19	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Waverley	2
Nigeria	Modesta Alozie[19]	21	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Abia	3
Northern Ireland	Kayleigh O'Reilly[68]	18	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Derry	3
Pakistan	Ayesha Gilani[19]	26	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	Lahore	1
Panama	Geraldine Higuera	20	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)	La Chorrera	2
Paraguay	Gabriela Rejala[19]	20	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Ñemby	3
Peru	Leticia Rivera[19]	21	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Cajamarca	3
Philippines	Sandra Seifert	25	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Bacolod	2
Poland	Izabela Wilczek[69][19]	23	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	Pabianice	1
Puerto Rico	Dignelis Jiménez[70][19]	25	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)	Arecibo	3
Russia	Ksenia Podsevatkina[71][19]	22	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Saratov	2
Samoa	Varuna Curry[19]	21	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Apia	3
Scotland	Sarah Finlay[72]	23	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Glasgow	3
Serbia	Dijana Milojkovic[19]	22	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Cuprija	2
Singapore	Valerie Lim[73]	24	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Singapore	3
Slovak Republic	Lea Šindlerová[74][19]	22	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Nitra	2
Slovenia	Maja Jamnik[75][19]	18	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Ljubljana	3
South Africa	Chanel Grantham[76]	20	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Durban	1
South Sudan	Aheu Deng[77][19]	18	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Juba	2
Spain	Alejandra Echevarria[78][79][80][19]	20	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	Jaén	1
Sweden	Giulia Simone Olsson[81]	19	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	Stockholm	2
Switzerland	Graziella Rogers[82]	22	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)	Lyss	3
Tahiti	Niuriki Teremate[82]	21	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Punaauia	3
Tanzania	Evelyne Almasi[83]	24	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Dar es Salaam	3
Thailand	Rujinan Phanseethum[84][19]	20	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	Udon Thani	3
Tonga	Mary Greatz[19]	21	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Nuku'alofa	2
Turkey	Gözde Zay[85]	26	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	Istanbul	2
Turks and Caicos	Alison Capron[86][19]	23	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	Providenciales	2
Ukraine	Karina Golovata[19]	21	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Kyiv	1
United States	Amy Diaz[87][88][19]	25	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	North Providence	2
Venezuela	Jessica Barboza[89][19]	22	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)	Maracaibo	1
Wales	Dominique Dyer[90]	20	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	Neath Port Talbot	2

Notes

Debuts

•  Gabon
•  Tonga

Returns

• Last competed in 2006:
  •  Puerto Rico
  •  Samoa
• Last competed in 2007:
  •  Denmark
  •  Guatemala
  •  Hong Kong
  •  Kenya
  •    Nepal
  •  Paraguay
  •  Ukraine

Withdrawals

Contestants who were confirmed initially but were deleted from the roster of delegates just before the pageant started:

•  Curaçao – Amada Hernandez
•  Iraq – Aure Arnulf
•  Zambia – Esther Sitali Banda

Contestant who were confirmed initially but were deleted from the roster of delegates six days after the pageant started:

•  Bolivia – Dominique Peltier
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina – Lejla Adrovic
•  Croatia – Vinka Groseta
•  Ethiopia – Genet Denoba Ogeto
•  Kazakhstan – Inessa Nazarova
•  Malawi – Queen Christie Tembo
•  Romania – Roxana Ilie

Contestants who withdrew due to other reasons:

•  Botswana – Tumisang Sebina was disqualified due to height requirements.
•  Nicaragua – Maritza Rivas was supposedly to compete at Miss Earth but was unable to due to visa problems.
•  Vietnam – Trương Thị May suffered from a serious sprain on her left leg after a fall on 24 October, just 7 days before the pageant started. She appeared as a special guest in the grand final.^[91] It was planned that she might return the following year, but it did not happen. She was a featured candidate representing Vietnam at Miss Earth 2011 after so many unlucky tries.^[92]

Countries who withdrew due to lack of funding and sponsorship:

•  Bhutan
•  Congo
•  Congo DR
•  Germany
•  Finland
•  Liberia
•  Lithuania
•  Rwanda
•  Suriname
•  Uganda

Other notes

•  Honduras – Alejandra Mendoza, the winner of Miss Honduras Belleza Nacional 2007–2008 (Miss Honduras 2007–2008) pageant, was supposed to represent Honduras in the Miss Earth 2008, but failed to compete. She competed in the Miss Earth 2009.
•  Philippines – Sandra Seifert was a contestant in Binibining Pilipinas 2009, but was disqualified for having posed in a two-piece-swimsuit in a men's magazine. Born in Taiwan, she is the first non-native born Philippine representative. Seifert's father is of German heritage, and her mother is Filipino.
•  United States – Amy Diaz previously competed in the Miss USA 2008 where she made the top 15.^[93] Diaz is also half Dominican.