 In mid May the nation announced that they would not send their titleholder, Andrea Steltzer, to the pageant because of fears for her safety.This was the first time since 1975 that the country did not participate in the pageant; they would not return to the event until 1995.Andrea Steltzer (half South African and half German) took part as Miss Germany in the 1989 Miss Universe pageant where she was a semi-finalist.