SUN CITY, South Africa — Nigerian Agbani Darego was crowned Miss World on Friday, the first black African to win the title in the contest's 51-year history.
From 93 contestants, Darego, 18, captured the title ahead of Zerelda Lee, of Aruba, and Scotland's Juliet-Jane Horne.
The pageant, hosted by U.S. chat show presenter Jerry Springer, was beamed to a projected global television audience of 1.2 billion people.
"I am so, so happy. It's a wonderful feeling and it's indescribable . . . I know back home they were all watching out for me, and I am happy I made them proud," Darego told Reuters Television.
"I've made history," she said, adding that she would continue her studies to be a computer scientist as well as carrying out her duties as Miss World.
Before being crowned, Darego said with a smile: "Black is beautiful."
There have been only three winners from Africa in more than half a century, and two of them were white South Africans, in 1958 and 1974. The third, in 1954, was from Egypt.
Miss World had until now been dominated by winners from Europe, the Americas and India, and the majority have been white.
Rapturous celebrations broke out in bars in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos.
Residents reported wilder celebrations in the southeastern oil city of Port Harcourt, the new Miss World's hometown, where motorists blasted horns shortly after the televised event ended.
"We did it. Up Nigeria," chanted television studio crews flashing victory signs at the camera.
Darego's victory was the first item on television's main evening news, even though the national press apparently gave her little chance of winning. There was no mention of her participation in Friday newspapers appearing before the contest.
Darego, whose win was greeted by loud applause from the South African audience, had promoted herself as wanting to be a computer scientist as well as a supermodel.
Her hobbies were listed as hiking, reading detective novels and traditional Nigerian dancing. She told Springer that if she was alone on a deserted island, she would take a Bible because she was a Christian and had a strong faith in God.
The tall, long-necked Darego took to her new duties wearing an olive green evening gown.
Darego, who picked up $100,000 for landing the coveted prize, was a rank 66-1 outsider to win the title, according to official bookmakers Ladbrokes.
"I know I am going to raise a lot of money for those less privileged children in society and all over the world because that has always been my dream and I believe that I can actually give them hope for tomorrow," she said.
"I am happy God was with me because it has given me strength, faith and courage to be myself," said Darego, who will now become a celebrity in her West African homeland of more than 110 million people.
The beauty gala was celebrated in Sun City, a luxury resort of casinos and a variety of other attractions that is known as South Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure.
Springer confessed to feeling like a child in a candy store during the two-hour ceremony, which mixed glamour, African dancing, rap and a sense of amateur dramatics.
"What a new beautiful Miss World we have. May she reign wonderfully for this year," said Springer.
The contest has been condemned in the past as a cattle market replete with gorgeous air-heads that is demeaning to women and still carries the "blonde bimbo" stigma.
The number of contestants is still growing however, with the first entries from China and Malawi.
Organisers tried to modernise the event by giving viewers the chance to phone in their votes and even e-mail questions to the hopefuls.
The Miss World contest was founded in 1951 by flamboyant British entrepreneur Eric Morley, who died last year just weeks before the 50th anniversary celebration of the event.