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The place: Athens, Greece - the haven to great sculptors, architects, writers and thinkers of all time, the "cradle of Western civilization", the "home of the gods", and the birthplace of the Olympics. The venue: Herod Atticus Amphitheater, a 2,000-year old, round building with an open arena situated at the foot of a great rock called Acropolis that looked out over the city of Athens. On top of the “Odeon”, as Herod Atticus Amphitheater was aptly called, was the Parthenon, the ancient Doric temple of Athena which was sculpted and designed by Phidias and built in 5th Century B.C. The Odeon was surrounded by rising rows of seats where ancient Greeks sat and watched those immortal plays and tragic dramas written by Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles - the great and legendary Greek tragedians of all time.
The event: The 22nd Annual Miss Universe Pageant where sixty-one (61) beautiful ladies from all over the world competed for the most coveted title, “Miss Universe”. This was the first time in the history of the pageant where the program was brought to the European continent for a worldwide telecast.
 Maria Margarita Roxas Moran, a 19-year old, full-time university student and a part-time Auggie Cordero/Patis Tesoro model from Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, represented the Philippines. Earlier in her Binibini stint, she was reluctant to join this local pageant but was forced to do so due to the persistent encouragements and constant nagging from her friends. As a matter of fact, her parents were even clueless when she won the Binibining Pilipinas-Universe title. Thus, the news of her winning became really quite a shock to her family members. She succeeded Armi Barbara Crespo, Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 1972, who was successful as a delegate in the Miss Universe edition in Dorado, Puerto Rico by placing as one of its semifinalists along with Kerry Wells, a “weather bird” from Australia, who eventually won the crown.
After Margie deplaned from her Olympic Airways flight to Athens, local photographers and press people swooned to her like “bees making wax on a honeycomb”. They admired Margie’s prominent forehead, flawless complexion, and her uniquely shaped square-jawed face. Margie’s poise and regal bearing were just too impossible to go unnoticed. Her graceful moves were natural, effortless and unrehearsed. Her feminine flair was refined, controlled, and yet, spontaneous. She wasn’t much of a “glib-talker” like Gloria Diaz, the first Philippine Miss Universe, but her sensibilities were forthcoming and her candidness was so forthright during interviews.
During the preliminaries, the early favorites were Amanda Jones (USA), Marcelle Herro (Lebanon), Limor Schreibman (Israel), Desiree Rolando (Venezuela), Vanessa Colon (Puerto Rico), Margie Moran (Philippines) and, of course, the host delegate, Sicta Vana Papadaki (Greece). Margie was every photographer’s delight that there were no questions asked when she won the Miss Photogenic Award. Meanwhile, Maria Martin Madrigal, the delegate from Spain, won the Best National Costume Award.
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