View source for Miss Universe 1976

{{short description| 25th Miss Universe pageant}}
{{Infobox beauty pageant
| photo = Rina Messinger wearing Miss Universe crown.jpg
| caption = [[Rina Messinger]], Miss Universe 1976
| winner = '''[[Rina Mor|Rina Messinger]]'''
| represented = Israel
| date = 11 July 1976{{efn|name=Hong Kong date|The event was held at 8:00 am [[Hong Kong Time]] ([[UTC+08:00]]); for the Americas, this was July 10 in their local times.}}
| presenters = {{Hlist|[[Bob Barker]]|[[Helen O'Connell]]}}
| acts = 
| venue = [[Lee Theatre]], [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]
| broadcaster = {{Hlist|[[CBS]] <small>(international)</small><br>[[TVB]] <small>(Host broadcaster)</small>}}
| entrants = 72
| placements = 12
| debuts = {{Hlist|[[Barbados]]|[[Northern Mariana Islands]]|[[Papua New Guinea]]|[[Sint Maarten]]}}
| withdraws = {{Hlist|[[Belize]]|[[Haiti]]|[[Jamaica]]|[[Lebanon]]|[[Micronesia]]|[[Morocco]]}}
| returns = {{Hlist|[[Honduras]]|[[Norway]]|[[Suriname]]}}
| congeniality = Margaret McFarlane (Trinidad and Tobago)
| photogenic = Pauline Davies (England)
| best national costume = Rocío Lazcano (Peru)
| before = [[Miss Universe 1975|1975]]
| next = [[Miss Universe 1977|1977]]
}}

'''Miss Universe 1976''' was the 25th [[Miss Universe]] pageant, held on 11 July 1976{{efn|name=Hong Kong date}} at the [[Lee Theatre]] in [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]. [[Rina Messinger]] of [[Israel]] was crowned by [[Anne Marie Pohtamo]] of [[Finland]]. This was the first and only time that an Israeli has won the competition. It was the only time in the pageant's history that the event was held in [[Hong Kong]].

==Results==
[[File:Miss Universe 1976 Map.png|thumb|250px|Miss Universe 1976 participating nations and results]]

===Placements===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|- 
! Placement
! Contestant
|-
| Miss Universe 1976
|
* '''{{flag|Israel}} – [[Rina Mor|Rina Messinger]]'''<ref name="AP">{{cite news |title=Israeli Wins Miss Universe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/653284911 |access-date=24 August 2023 |work=[[The News and Observer]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=12 July 1976 |page=19 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 1st runner-up
|
* {{flag|Venezuela|1954}} – [[Judith Castillo]]<ref name="AP"/>
|-
| 2nd runner-up
|
* {{flag|Wales}} – [[Sian Adey-Jones]]<ref name="AP"/>
|-
| 3rd runner-up
|
* {{flag|Scotland}} – Carol Grant
|-
| 4th runner-up
|
* {{flag|Australia}} – Julie Ismay
|-
| Top 12
|
* {{flag|Argentina}} – Lilian Deasti
* {{flag|Chile}} – Verónica Sommers
* {{flag|Colombia}} – María Reyes
* {{flag|Netherlands Antilles|name=Curaçao}} – Anneke Dijkhuizen
* {{flag|England}} – Pauline Davies
* {{flag|British Hong Kong|name=Hong Kong}} – Rowena Lam
* {{NOR}} - Bente Lihaug
|}

==Contestants==
Seventy-two contestants competed for the title.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%"
!Country/Territory
!Contestant
|-
|{{ASM}}
|Taliilani Letuli<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=10 July 1976 |title=Hong Kong Is Agog Over Beauty Pageant |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/10/archives/hong-kong-is-agog-over-beauty-pageant.html |access-date=26 August 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Argentina}}
|Lilian Noemí De Asti<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=9 July 1976|title=Kissinger, el personaje preferido|language=es|pages=3B|work=El Tiempo|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8HQbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6FAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=848%2C1881743|access-date=26 August 2023|trans-title=Kissinger, the favorite character|via=[[Google News Archive]]}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Netherlands Antilles|1959|name=Aruba}}
|Cynthia Bruin
|-
|{{AUS}}
|Julie Anne Ismay
|-
|{{AUT}}
|Heidi-Marie Passian
|-
|{{BHS}}
|Sharon Smith
|-
|{{BRB}}
|Jewell Nightingale
|-
|{{BEL}}
|Yvette Aelbrecht
|-
|{{BMU}}
|Vivienne Hollis
|-
|{{BOL}}
|Carolina Aramayo
|-
|{{flag|Brazil|1968}}
|Katia Moretto
|-
|{{CAN}}
|Normande Jacques
|-
|{{CHL}}
|Verónica Sommer
|-
|{{COL}}
|María Helena Reyes
|-
|{{flag|Costa Rica|state}}
|Silvia Jiménez
|-
|{{flag|Netherlands Antilles|1959|name=Curaçao}}
|Anneke Dijkhuizen
|-
|{{DNK}}
|Brigitte Trolle
|-
|{{DOM}}
|Norma Lora
|-
|{{Flag|Ecuador|1900}}
|Gilda Plaza
|-
|{{SLV}}
|Mireya Calderón
|-
|{{ENG}}
|Pauline Davies
|-
|{{FIN}}
|Suvi Lukkarinen
|-
|{{flag|France|1974}}
|Monique Uldaric
|-
|{{flag|Greece|old}}
|Melina Michailidou
|-
|{{GUM}}
|Pilar Laguana
|-
|{{flag|Guatemala}}
|Blanca Montenegro
|-
|{{flag|Holland}}
|Nannetje Nielen<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Basu |first=Soma |date=15 February 2017 |title=40 years ago as competitors on stage for the Ms.Universe pageant, their looks mattered. Now their bonding and inner beauty does. |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/Jab-they-Met/article17306988.ece |access-date=25 August 2023 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Honduras|1949}}
|Victoria Alejandra Pineda
|-
|{{flag|British Hong Kong|name=Hong Kong}}
|Rowena Lam
|-
|{{ISL}}
|Gudmunda Hulda Johannesdottir
|-
|{{IND}}
|[[Naina Balsaver]]<ref name=":0" />
|-
|{{IDN}}
|[[Juliarti Rahayu Gunawan]]
|-
|{{IRL}}
|Elaine O'Hara<ref name=":0" />
|-
|{{ISR}}
|[[Rina Mor|Rina Messinger]]
|-
|{{ITA}}
|Diana Scapolan
|-
|{{flag|Japan|1870}}
|Miyako Iwakuni
|-
|{{LBR}}
|Laurine Wede Johnson
|-
|{{LUX}}
|Monique Wilmes
|-
|{{MYS}}
|[[Faridah Norizan]]
|-
|{{MLT}}
|Mary Grace Ciantar
|-
|{{MUS}}
|Marielle Tse-Sik-Sun
|-
|{{MEX}}
|Carla Jean Evert
|-
|{{NZL}}
|Janey Kingscote
|-
|{{NIC}}
|Ivania Navarro<ref name=":0" />
|-
|{{MNP}}
|Candelaria Borja
|-
|{{NOR}}
|Bente Lihaug
|-
|{{PAN}}
|Carolina Chiari
|-
|{{PNG}}
|Eva Regina Arni
|-
|{{flag|Paraguay|1954}}
|Nidia Fátima Cárdenas
|-
|{{flag|Peru|1902}}
|Rocío Lazcano
|-
|{{flag|Philippines|1936}}
|Elizabeth de Padua
|-
|{{Flag|Puerto Rico|1952}}
|Elizabeth Zayas
|-
|{{SCT}}
|Carol Jean Grant
|-
|{{SGP}}
|Linda Tham
|-
|{{flag|Netherlands Antilles|1959|name=Sint Maarten}}
|Angela Huggins
|-
|{{flag|South Africa|1928}}
|Cynthia Classen
|-
|{{flag|South Korea|1948}}
|Chung Kwang-hyun
|-
|{{flag|Spain|1945}}
|Olga Fernández 
|-
|{{LKA}}
|Genevieve Parsons
|-
|{{flag|Suriname}}
|Peggy Vandeleuv
|-
|{{SWE}}
|Caroline Westerberg
|-
|{{CHE}}
|Isabelle Fischbacher
|-
|{{THA}}
|Katareeya Areekul
|-
|{{TTO}}
|Margaret McFarlane
|-
|{{TUR}}
|[[Manolya Onur]]
|-
|{{USA}}
|[[Barbara Peterson]]<ref name="Times">{{cite news |date=May 17, 1976 |title=It's All a Dream World for the New Miss U.S.A. |language=en |page=9 |work=[[The Kansas City Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/676972793/ |access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|United States Virgin Islands}}
|Lorraine Patricia Baa
|-
|{{URY}}
|Leila Vinas 
|-
|{{flag|Venezuela|1954}}
|[[Judith Castillo]]
|-
|{{WLS}}
|[[Sian Adey-Jones]]
|-
|{{flag|West Germany}}
|Birgit Margot Hamer
|-
|{{YUG}}
|Svetlana Radojcic
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.missuniverse.com Miss Universe official website]

{{Miss Universe}}
{{Miss Universe 1976 delegates}}

[[Category:Miss Universe by year|1976]]
[[Category:1976 in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:1976 beauty pageants]]
[[Category:Beauty pageants in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:July 1976 in Asia]]