The 106 contestants recorded the official torch relay anthem
Light the Passion, Share the Dream for the
2008 Olympic Games as a major co-operation between the Beijing Olympic Committee and Miss World Limited. The song had its first broadcast to a global audience at the 57th Miss World final on 1 December. In addition, to coincide with World AIDS Day, the pageant presented a special tribute to the fight against AIDS, with a televised speech from former South African President
Nelson Mandela and the presence of his daughter and grandson, along with traditional dancers from
South Africa who joined the contestants in a special song.
Returns, and, withdrawals This edition saw the return of Albania, Belize, Grenada, Lithuania, Nepal, New Zealand, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Swaziland and Uganda; Suriname, which last competed in
1981, Sierra Leone in
1988, Grenada in
1996, Belize in
2003, Lithuania and Paraguay last competed in
2004 and Albania, Nepal, New Zealand, Swaziland and Uganda in
2005. Barbados, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, French Polynesia, Liberia, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Uruguay and Zambia, withdrew from the competition. == Results ==