Selection of participants Replacements Anna Vitale of Italy was replaced by Vanna Bortolini, her first runner-up of the
Miss Italy, because she decided to return home to take care of her ill mother and Rhoda Rademeyer of South Africa was the second runner-up of
Miss South Africa. The official titleholder, Helga Vera Johns, was disqualified by the Miss World organizers when it was discovered that she came from
Rhodesia. Her Rhodesian nationality apparently violated the pageant's rules. The first runner-up, Crystal Coopers, went to London, but her father would not allow her to compete there because it was discovered that Vera Johns was not going to be officially stripped of her title. This was the second time Helga Vera Johns was barred from competing in the Miss World contest and still to this day remains the only contestant to be barred at least twice from competing at Miss World. The first time was in
1972 when she tried to compete as
Miss Rhodesia but was not allowed to compete due to her Rhodesian nationality.
Debuts, returns, and, withdrawals This edition marked the debut of Curaçao, El Salvador, Haiti, Saint Lucia and Swaziland and the return of Bolivia, Cuba, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Peru, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Uruguay. Cuba, which last competed in
1955, Bolivia and Uruguay last competed in
1965, Trinidad and Tobago last competed in
1971 and Iceland, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Peru, Seychelles and Turkey last competed in
1973. Botswana, Ecuador, Jamaica, Madagascar, and Zambia, withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons. Olga Fernández Pérez of Spain promptly withdrew from the competition, after an announcement that
Francisco Franco, the ruler of Spain, had died on the morning of the pageant date. Pageant organizers concerned that she had been too upset by Franco's death to appear in the finals. == Results ==