Sarajevo, then and now, through the eyes of a pageant queen

Iconic photos from the Miss Besieged Sarajevo contest in 1993 are revisited by the Associated Press, almost 20 years after the Bosnian War.

In this May 29, 1993 file photo, Inela Nogic, 17, reacts after winning the Miss Besieged Sarajevo 93 contest in Sarajevo. Hearts melted worldwide when instead of tearfully wishing "world peace" as she was crowned the pageant queen, the 17 year-old folded out a banner that read: "Don't let them kill us." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

The pageant was held in a basement to avoid sniper attacks. The event became the subject of a documentary entitled "Miss Sarajevo" and the inspiration for a song created by U2, Brian Eno and Luciano Pavarotti, under the pseudonym Passengers.

In this photo taken on Friday, March 16 2012, Bosnian Inela Nogic, a 37-year-old mother of two who now lives in the Netherlands, recalls bitter-sweet memories of the most difficult time in her city's history. The war-defying pageant reflected on the character of the 380,000 people who continued to simulate normal city life despite daily shelling and sniper fire under the almost four year long military siege by Bosnian Serbs that started in 1992. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)