Miss Earth 2003 was the third edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on November 9, 2003.

Winfred Omwakwe of Kenya crowned Dania Prince of Honduras as her successor the end of the event. Brazil's Pricila Zandona was selected Miss Air 2003, Costa Rica's Marianela Zeledon Bolanos was chosen Miss Water 2003, and Poland's Marta Matyjasik was Miss Fire 2003.

Beauty for a Cause Award was awarded to Vida Samadzai the first Afghan woman to compete in an international beauty pageant in almost three decades, for helping found a US-based women's charity that seeks to raise awareness of women's rights and education in Afghanistan by "symbolizing the newfound confidence, courage and spirit of today’s women and representing the victory of women’s rights and various social, personal and religious struggles".

Final question and winning answer

Final question in Miss Earth 2003: "At the end of each rainbow, so the saying goes, is a pot of gold. As a woman of the earth, instead of a pot of gold, what else would you rather find at the end of the rainbow?"

Winning answer of Miss Earth 2003: "Honestly, there are things that are much more important than gold. For me personally, the most important is the sentiments of the people. To give love and smile to a human being, to be able to give them a hand when needed, to give help to someone who needs your presence, and also God is always with us which is very important. The first thing I think when I open my eyes is heaven. When we have Him in our hearts and mind, everything is better. And I can see people how they really are inside, not if they have gold or not. For me the rainbow means life, God and happiness." - Dania Prince, represented Honduras.

Judges

The following is the list of the nine-member board of judges of Miss Earth 2003:

No.JudgeBackground
1Jose Cayetano da SilvaAmbassador of Portugal to the Philippines
2Evangeline PascualMiss World Philippines 1973
3Inno SottoPremier Fashion Designer
4Chito MacapagalGeneral Manager of Unilever Philippines
5Patricia TancheongSenior Vice President of Air Philippines
6Chin Chin GutierrezTIME Magazine 2003 Asian hero
7Stefan VoogelGeneral Manager of Hotel Intercontinental Manila
8Paul LancosBeauty Expert, Vice President of Avon
9Elisea GozunSecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Contestants

List of countries/territories and delegates that participated in Miss Earth 2003:

Further reading

  • Newsweek: Kuntzman, Gersh.. Published on November 3, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Associated Press. . Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Los Angeles Times: Main News. Justice Official Criticizes Beauty Contestant[link removed]. Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Sky News United Kingdom: Bikini Beauty Queen Faces Backlash[link removed]. Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Rediff India: Agencies. Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Deseret News: The Salt Lake City, UT . Published on November 9, 2003. November 9, 2003 Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Tribune- Pittsburg: The Associated Press. [permanent dead link]. Published on November 9, 2003. November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Philadelphia Daily News: Online News. . Published on November 9, 2003. November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Sunday Register Guard: Eugene, Oregon. . Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Bangor Daily News- Washington. Associated Press. . Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • New Straits Times: Associated Press. . Published on November 11, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Spokesman-Review: Fowler, Jonathan. . Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • Xinhua News Agency: chinaview.cn: . Published on October 207, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Indian Express: Constable, Pamela .. Published on November 2, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Toronto Star: De Castro, Erik/Reuters. . Published on November 2, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
  • The Washington Post/Island Packet: . Published on October 31, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009

External links