1.On the Peruvian coast, the historic city of Lima, one of the oldest cities in the Western Hemisphere,is the setting for 1982 Miss Universe; Peru is the only South American country to have offered to host the pageant.
2. Miss Universe 1981, Irene Saez, makes a visit to Cuzco (Peru),the land of Machu Picchu,one of the Seven Modern Wonders on the Planet.
3. Who arrived first to Peru? Of course,Venezuela’s 18 year-old Ana teresa Oropeza and with the “world’s largest wardrobe”: hundreds of evening gowns and clothes made by well-known fashion desingers from Caracas and Maracaibo such as Angel Sanchez and Mayela Camacho. But isn’t all! Like the First Lady Imelda Marcos of the Philippines,she owns many pairs of shoes. Prior to competing in the Peruvian capital, Miss Oropeza said that her favorite musical composer is “William Shakespeare” during an interview in her homeland country. The young Venezuelan is one of the tallest representatives at Lima’82, along with Miss Holland(1,81m), Miss Brazil (1,80m), and Miss Chile (1,81m).
4.There are anti-pageants protests (Communist groups and feminist orgnizations) during Miss Universe 1982.
5.Fernando Belaunde Terry, the country’s incumbent ruler and one of Latin America’s highly respected statesmen, receives candidates at the Government Palace at Lima. Speaking in English, French, and, Spanish, of course, Mr. Belaunde congratulated the participation entries and wished them the best luck!
6.Following the Italian victory over West Germany at the FIFA World Cup in the Spaniard city of Madrid, Italy’s national delegate, Cinzia Fiordeponte, who was backed by the wife of the Italian ambassador to Peru during the event, is congratulated by a host of entries and journalists.
7.The international jury is led by the future Nobel-Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. The London-based Peruvian novelist and playwright was the third judge from Peru in MU history after Miss Zender and Alberto Vargas (1956, 1957 & 1958).
8.The Miss Universe Organization honors Gladys Zender at the 31st Miss Universe.
9.The host country’s delegate, Francesca Zaza Reinoso -born at Lima and from Italian origin- makes the semi-finals.
10.Singapore’s 20-year old secretary Telma Judicia Nonis “wins” the universal crown during rehearsals at Lima’s Coliseum Amauta. She “fainted” in the middle of the crowning! Later that year, Miss Singapore 1983 Kathie Lee competed in the semi-finals and finished seventh with an average of 8.222 points.
11.After being regarded as one of the top contenders, Miss Canada is the global winner. She, who had a low profile, is a passionate enthusiast for sports.
12.After returning to MU in 1981, the Republic of South Africa writes one of the most controversial chapters in MU history: What will forever be a mystery, is why the international jury did not award Odette Scrooby from white-ruled South Africa, the pre-pageant favorite in Peru. Surprisingly, Miss South Africa Odette Scrooby receives the lowest score (7.225) in the swimsuit category from international jury led Mario Vargas Llosa,an admirer of South Africa’s anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Some days ago, she had won that event during the preliminary competition in Santa Maria, Lima’s beach town, with a score of 8.402 points. Because of these results, Miss South Africa failed to make the Top Five. Since then, it was the greatest controversy in the history of the pageant. It would have been difficult for the MUO to give its second universal title to a delegate from South Africa, an international pariah around the world (a state does not recognized by a host of countries –especially African republics– and international organizations).