Miss Philippines was today crowned Miss World 2013 in a glittering finale on
the Indonesian resort island of Bali amid tight security following weeks of
hardline Muslim protests.
Megan Young beat five other finalists, including France and Brazil, to win
the coveted title in a contest broadcast to more than 180 countries worldwide.
She thanked the judges for choosing her and promised to "be the best
Miss World ever".
The 23-year-old pledged to "just be myself in everything I do, to share
what I know and to educate people".
The decision to hold the pageant in the world's most populous
Muslim-majority country had sparked hardline anger. Heavily armed police and
water cannon were guarding the venue in Nusa Dua, southern Bali.
- Thousands of hardliners had taken to the streets around the country to protest against the pageant in recent weeks, and radical group the Islamic Defenders' Front had pledged to stage protests today against the pageant. - AFP, September 28, 2013.
- But in the end no demonstrations materialised, and the group limited itself to holding a mass prayer session in a mosque just outside the capital Jakarta to express their opposition.
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