Miss Italy 2000 Adds Evening for Contestant Stories on RaiUno
An extra evening for Miss Italy. An evening to better showcase the character of the hundred finalists in the beauty pageant that marks the Italian summer a little. This is the new feature of the sixty-first edition of the event, broadcast on RaiUno on September 6, 7, 9, and 10, and for the thirteenth time hosted by Fabrizio Frizzi. “We’ve now reached four evenings: two dedicated to the girls’ emotions, one to fashion, and then the final night—not only because it’s the 2000 edition, but also because since last year we felt the need for more space to tell the stories of the contestants,” explains Frizzi. “All one hundred will have the chance to tell their stories, both through brief interviews and with the talk show.” For the presenter, a true veteran of the contest, the emotion is still strong: “After all, it was the first program I hosted alone without a partner.”
Controversies and problems have always been part of the event’s history. “Last year’s final night was very tough,” recalls Frizzi. “When the technical error with the computer disqualified one girl instead of another, we resolved the issue with great composure, respecting the rules but also being sensitive to the contestants involved in the mistake. This time, we’ve considered all possibilities; we will never again make a decision on the spot: there will be a regulation guardian for every contingency.”
There are also innovations in the composition of the jury. During the Olympics month, athletes could not be missing from the judges. “I would like the Misses to sing the Mameli anthem like athletes do when they win races,” hopes Enzo Mirigliani, the pageant’s patron. “Especially the young women participating in ‘Miss Italia nel Mondo’ to make all Italians feel close.”
The town of Salsomaggiore, awaiting the finals, was transformed by Dino Risi into a set for “Bellissima,” the two-part fiction for RaiUno, which was supposed to star Vittorio Gassman, although he did not accept. In addition to the main events, RaiUno will also re-air the six-episode magazine “Let’s Miss Again” about local selections for the contest, and a 50-minute report on the national pre-finals in San Benedetto del Tronto, where 240 finalists, twenty more than last year, will participate.
The Misses will also debut on the Internet and will be closely followed by Antonello Dose and Marco Presta, the radio duo of Radio2, who will create an original radio commentary. Predictions? After Manila Nazzaro’s light colors, the “totomiss” betting on a still more blond winner for 2000. The young Apulian girl has not totally erased the streak of three consecutive brunettes: in 1996, Denny Mendez, a beauty with Dominican roots, won; in 1997, it was Calabria’s Claudia Trieste, also a brunette and curly-haired. In 1998, the smile of Gloria Bellicchi, born right in Salsomaggiore, won over the jury and viewers at home. But what will the Miss of 2000 look like? Manila Nazzaro, the most recent Miss, is ready to crown and sash her reign. “I enjoyed participating in Miss Italy so much that I did it again,” she recalls, having been eliminated in 1996. “I would do it a thousand times more. It was a year full of commitments, but I had many opportunities, and I hope I’ve planted good seeds. Besides hosting ‘Let’s Miss Again’ about the selections, there’s also another hosting opportunity on Rai in the upcoming season.”
The young reigning queen enchanted Italians last year with her clear gaze and a phrase relating to her homeland, so close to Kosovo, then in war. “I think all one hundred girls participating in the finals are beautiful,” she continues. “The winner will be the one who manages to communicate something more than the others.”