Miss Universe

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File:Miss Universe logo.png
Logo of the Miss Universe event.

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest, and the title for the winner of the contest, founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996. The pageant is run by the Miss Universe Organization.


Miss Universe 2007

Main article: Miss Universe 2007

The 2007 Miss Universe Pageant will be held in Mexico City on May 28. Although initial expectations were that ninety delegates would participate., only 77 candidates will compete for the title.

The Miss Universe Organization officially informed (March 29, 2007) the event will take place in May 28 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico. Other events will take place the cities of Cancun, the Mayan Riviera and Chiapas [1].

History

The winner of 1950s "Miss America 1951" pageant, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from major sponsor Catalina swimwear. As a result, the brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew from Miss America and set up the Miss USA and Miss Universe contests. The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title to get married to a Filipino tycoon, Virgilio Hilario, shortly before her year was complete. Until 1958 the Miss Universe title (like Miss America) was post-dated, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953.

The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began nationally broadcasting the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants combined from 1960, and separately from 1965. In 2003, NBC took over the television rights.

The main pageant was held consecutively in the continental US from 1952 to 1971. Since then it has usually been held in a different country each year.

The contest today

The Miss Universe Organization, a New York-based partnership between NBC and Donald Trump, has run the contest since June 20, 2002. The current president is Paula Shugart. The Organization sells television rights to the pageant in other countries, and also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contests. The winner of Miss USA represents the USA in Miss Universe.

Candidate selection

Each year, bids are received by the Miss Universe organizers from organizations who wish to select the Miss Universe contestant for a country. This allows competition between different pageants to hold a country's license, as happened for Miss Italy and Miss France for example when the licenses for their respective traditional organizations were revoked (the usual Miss France competition returned in 2004).

Usually a country's candidate selection involves pageants in major cities, with the winners competing in a national pageant, but this does not always occur. For example, in 2000 Australia's national pageant was abolished as a relic of a bygone era, with Australian delegates instead chosen by a modelling agency. Such "castings" are generally discouraged by the Miss Universe Organization, which prefers national pageants that preserve an aura of respectability and competition. Despite the "casted" Australian delegate, Miss Australia, Jennifer Hawkins, was chosen as Miss Universe. In 2004, Australia resumed its national pageant and choose Michelle Guy as Miss Universe Australia 2005.

Some of the most successful national pageants in the last decade are Miss USA, Venezuela, India, Colombia ,Puerto Rico, Lebanon, and France which command consistently high interest and television ratings in their respective countries. Organizations attempting to build themselves up to a higher level include Canada, Philippines, Mexico, Peru, Miss Universe Japan, and the triumvirate of Miss Bolivia, Miss Paraguay, and Miss Uruguay (all directed by Gloria de Limpias). Recent arrivals in the pageant include China (2002), Albania (2002), Vietnam (2004), Georgia (2004), Ethiopia (2004), Latvia (2005), Kazakhstan (2006), and Tanzania (2007); there have also been efforts to revive strong national pageants in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Canada, and the Caribbean, among other regions. There are continually efforts to expand the pageant, but the participation of some countries such as Indonesia and Algeria has proven difficult due to cultural barriers to the swimsuit competition, while others such as Mozambique, Armenia and Nepal have balked at sending representatives due to the cost (in fact, of all the major international pageants, the franchise fee for Miss Universe is the most expensive). As of 2005, only four countries have been present at every Miss Universe since its inception in 1952: Canada, France, Germany, and the USA. Many European countries allow 17-year-old contestants to compete in their pageants, while Miss Universe's minimum age is 18, so national titleholders often have to be replaced by their runners-up. Miss Universe also prohibits transsexual applicants and age fabrication.

Main pageant

The main Miss Universe Pageant, as of now, is held over a two week period between May-July. In the 1970s through the 1990s, the pageant was a month-long extravaganza. This allows time for rehearsals, appearances and the preliminary competition, with the winner being crowned by the previous year's titleholder during the final competition. According to the organisers, the Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant: women who aspire to become Miss Universe must be intelligent, well-mannered and cultured. Often a candidate has lost because she did not have a good answer during the interview rounds; although this section of competition has held less importance during recent pageants than it did in the twentieth century. Delegates also compete in swimsuit and evening gown competitions.

Currently, the final placement of the finalists is determined by a ranked vote, where each judge ranks each of the final three/five candidates, with the contestant posting the lowest cumulative score becoming the winner. If there is a tie, which often happens when there are even members of the jury, the higher semifinal scores become decisive.

The winner is assigned a one-year contract with the Miss Universe Organisation, travelling overseas to spread messages about the control of diseases, peace, and public awareness of AIDS. Since Donald Trump took over the pageant, the winner has been given the use of a Trump Tower apartment in New York City for use during her reign.

Aside from the main winner and her runners-up, special awards are also given to the winners of the best National Costume, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Congeniality. Miss Congeniality is chosen by the delegates themselves. In recent years, Miss Photogenic has been chosen by popular internet vote (the winner used to be chosen by media personnel covering the event).

The Competition Proper

The Preliminaries

The competition for the Miss Universe title has seen many changes, although there have been several constants throughout its history. All the contestants compete in a preliminary round of judging (nowadays called the "Presentation Show") where the field is narrowed to a select number of semi-finalists. This number has fluctuated over the years. The very first Miss Universe pageant had ten semi-finalists. The next two years, the number of semi-finalists grew to 16. In 1955, the number dropped to a stable 15, which remained through 1970. In 1971, the number was reduced to 12. That number was further reduced to a mere 10 in 1984. This lasted until 2003, when the number of 15 was re-instated. In 2006, there were 20 semi-finalists, the highest number ever. In 2007, the Organization announced the Top 15 system will be back.

In the early years, the contestants were judged in swimsuit and evening gown only. In the later years, the contestants also competed in a preliminary interview round in a one-on-one meeting with each individual judge.

The Final Competition

In the early years of the pageant, the ladies who make the cut are announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 until the present day, the semi-finalists were not announced until the night of the main event. The semi-finalists once again competed in evening gown and swimsuit and a top 5 was announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960. From there, the runners-up and winner was selected. However, in 1959 through 1963, there was no cut to 5 finalists; the runners-up and winners were called from the assembled 15 semi-finalists.

In 1964, the top 15 became a top 10, and after a round of interview, the winner and runners-up were called from the 10 finalists.

In 1965, the pageant returned to a cut to 5 finalists, and remained so until 1989. Also, in 1969, a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant, especially in the 1980s, because from 1986-1989, the final question portion was not used. In 1990, it had taken root and every pageant since the final 5 contestants have to answer a final question.

In 1990, the pageant implemented major format changes in the competition itself. Instead of five finalists, the field was reduced from 10 semi-finalists to six (in 1998, the number of finalists return to 5). Each contestant then randomly selected a judge and answered the question posed by the judge. After that, the field is narrowed down further to a final three. However, in 2001, it became a final five again.

In 2000, the interview portion of the semi-finals was quietly dropped and the contestants once again, as in the early days of the pageant, competed only in swimsuit and gowns.

In 2006, twenty semi-finalists were announced, with these delegates competing in the swimsuit competition. The number of competing delegates was then cut to ten, with those delegates competing in the evening gown competition. After that round of competition, the final five were announced, with the finalists competing in the "final question" or interview round. At the end of competition the runners-up were announced and the winner crowned by the outgoing queen.

Titleholders

Further information: List of Miss Universe winners
Year Miss Universe National Title Country Venue
2007 TBD TBD TBD Mexico City, Mexico
2006 Zuleyka Jerris Rivera Mendoza Miss Puerto Rico Universe Puerto Rico Los Angeles, USA
2005 Canada Natalie Glebova Miss Universe Canada Canada Bangkok, Thailand
2004 Australia Jennifer Hawkins Miss Universe Australia Australia Quito, Ecuador
2003 Dominican Republic Amelia Vega Miss Republica Dominicana Universo Dominican Republic Panama City, Panama
2002 Russia Oxana Fedorova (Dethroned) Miss Russia Russia San Juan, Puerto Rico
Panama Justine Lisette Pasek Patiño Señorita Panama-Universo Panama
2001 Denise Quiñones Miss Puerto Rico Universe Puerto Rico Bayamon, Puerto Rico
2000 India Lara Dutta Femina Miss India Universe India Nicosia, Cyprus
1999 Botswana Mpule Kwelagobe Miss Universe Botswana Botswana Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago
1998 Trinidad and Tobago Wendy Fitzwilliam Miss Trinidad & Tobago-Universe Trinidad and Tobago Honolulu, USA
1997 United States Brook Mahealani Lee Miss USA USA Miami Beach, USA

Winning years for each country

Map of Miss Universe-winning countries as of 2006; not including Russia.
Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe 2005
Country Titles Winning years
 United States 7 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997
 Puerto Rico 5 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006
 Venezuela 4 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996
 Sweden 3 1955, 1966, 1984
 Finland 2 1952, 1975
 Brazil 2 1963, 1968
 Thailand 2 1965, 1988
 Philippines 2 1969, 1973
 Australia 2 1972, 2004
 Trinidad and Tobago 2 1977, 1998
 Canada 2* 1982, 2005
 India 2 1994, 2000
 Colombia 1 1958
 France 1 1953
 Peru 1 1957
 Japan 1 1959
 Dominican Republic 1 2003
 Panama 1 2002
 Botswana 1 1999
 Namibia 1 1992
 Mexico 1 1991
 Norway 1 1990
 Netherlands 1 1989
 Chile 1 1987
 New Zealand 1 1983
 South Africa 1 1978
 Israel 1 1976
 Spain 1 1974
 Lebanon 1 1971
 Greece 1 1964
 Argentina 1 1962
 Germany 1 1961
 Russia 1 2002 (dethroned)

Best performances by continental regions

As of 2006

REGION Best performance
North America* 18 titles won by USA (7), Canada (2), Mexico (1)Puerto Rico (5), Trinidad and Tobago (2), Dominican Republic, Panama* (1)
Europe 12 titles won by Sweden (3), Finland (2), France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Russia* and Spain (1)
South America 10 titles won by Venezuela (4), Brazil (2), Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Peru (1)
Asia 9 titles won by India, Philippines and Thailand (2), Japan, Israel and Lebanon (1)
Africa 3 titles won by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (1)
Oceania 3 titles won by Australia (2), New Zealand (1)

* In 2002, Russia's Oxana Fedorova won the Miss Universe crown in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, she was dethroned a few months later by the Miss Universe Organization for not fulfilling the duties stipulated in her contract. First runner-up, Panama's Justine Pasek was crowned Miss Universe for 2002.

* Central America and the Caribean are part of North America.

Tally

Anyone who follows the Olympic Games or other sporting events will be familiar with the concept of the Medal Table, which ranks countries based on their first (gold), second (silver) and third (bronze) place finishes. Here is a similar table of the top rankings for the Miss Universe pageant, based on all results from the first event in 1952 to the most recent competition in 2006.

Rank Country Victories 1st Runner-Up 2nd Runner-Up 3rd Runner-Up 4th Runner-Up Total
1.  United States 7 8 6 1 4 26
2.  Venezuela 4 6 4 4 2 20
3.  Sweden 3 1 2 3 4 13
4.  Finland 2 3 5 1 1 12
5.  Brazil 2 4 0 2 3 11
6.  Colombia 1 3 2 3 2 11
7.  Puerto Rico 5 1 2 1 1 10
8.  England 0 1 3 3 2 9
9.  Japan 1 1 1 2 3 8
10.  Israel 1 0 1 2 4 8
11.  Philippines 2 1 0 2 1 6

Hosts and invited artists

The following is a list of finals hosts and invited artists of the previous ten years. See List of Miss Universe hosts and invited artists for the full list of hosts and invited artists.
Year Masters of Ceremonies Color Commentators Special Musical Guests
2007 Vanessa Minnillo and Mario Lopez Carlos Ponce and Zuleyka Rivera RBD and Daddy Yankee
2006 Carlos Ponce and Nancy O'Dell Shandi Finnessey and Carson Kressley Chelo and Vittorio Grigolo
2005 Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell None None
2004 Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes None Gloria Estefan
2003 Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes None bond and Chayanne
2002 Phil Simms and Daisy Fuentes Brook Mahealani Lee Marc Anthony
2001 Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell Brook Mahealani Lee and Todd Newton Ricky Martin and La Ley
2000 Sinbad Julie Moran and Ali Landry Elvis Crespo, Montell Jordan, Dave Koz and Anna Vissi
1999 Jack Wagner Julie Moran and Ali Landry Julio Iglesias, Jr.
1998 Jack Wagner Julie Moran and Ali Landry K-Ci & JoJo
1997 George Hamilton Marla Maples Enrique Iglesias


Trivia and statistics

Scores

  • Electronic voting was introduced to televiewers in 1978 when the pageant was held in Acapulco, Mexico and for the first time in a televised pageant, the audience got to see how the judges voted. The pageant still uses a computer voting system. There is a team of three people who install, maintain, and operate the voting system. They sit somewhere in the audience area with a view of the stage, usually just in front of the accountants. They are listed in credits as “Computer Score Operators”. The same system is used for Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe.

Locations

For the full list of venues, see List of Miss Universe winners and venues.

Competing states

  • The United States has performed the best throughout the pageant's entire history, with seven winners, eight first runners-up, six second runners-up, one third runner-up, three fourth runners-up, six finalists, and seventeen semi-finalists. Miss USA has missed the semi-finals only three times: 1976 (Barbara Peterson), 1999 (Kimberly Pressler), and 2002 (Shauntay Hinton). In 1957, Leona Gage of Maryland was disqualified from the semi-finals after it was revealed that she was married and a mother.
  • After the USA, Venezuela is the next most successful nation in terms of overall placements in the semi-finals(33), it is followed in turn by Sweden and Brazil (both 28), Colombia (27), Germany (21), Israel (20), England (19), Finland, Greece and India (all 18), Norway(17), Peru, South Africa, Canada, Japan, and Puerto Rico (16 each). Of these countries, only England has yet to win the contest.
  • The United States has been the most successful state to compete in Miss Universe in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In the 1960s, Finland was the most successful nation, and Puerto Rico has been most successful in the 2000s. [1]
  • The nations that have competed every single year of competition (from 1952 to date) are France, Germany, USA and Canada. Sweden lost this distinction when it failed to send a contestant in 2005. Israel missed the pageant in 1953, while Greece was absent in 1988 (its delegate withdrew because of illness).
  • Before becoming states in 1959, Alaska and Hawaii both sent delegates to the pageant during the 1950s. In fact, Miss Hawaii was 1st runner-up in 1952 and 2nd runner-up in 1958 (before winning Miss Universe as Miss USA in 1997), while Miss Alaska reached the semi-finals in 1957.
  • After the USA, Venzuela ranked second in terms of consecutive placements in the semi-finals: 21 years, from 1983 to 2003, nearly beating the United States' 22-year streak between 1977-1998. While Alicia Machado has been the only Venezuelan Miss Universe in the last decade, of the nine following pageants, four have seen Venezuela's representative place first runner-up (1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003).
  • Other than the USA and Venezuela, the countries that have made the semi-finals the most in a row are India (who in recent years has emerged as a pageant powerhouse) with 11 (1992-2002) consecutive placements; Germany with ten (1952 to 1961); and Finland with 8 (1962-1969).
  • Colombia had three first-runner up placements from 1992-1994, a streak that has been unparallelled in competition history.
  • Finland has had the most consecutive runners-up. For five years, from 1965 to 1969, its delegates placed among the five finalists without interruption (1965: Virpi Miettinen, first runner-up, 1966: Satu Ostring, first runner-up, 1967: Ritva Lehto, third runner-up, 1968: Leena Brusiin, second runner-up, and 1969: Harriet Eriksson, first runner-up).
  • Puerto Rico has had at least 1 winner in each of the last 4 decades, the only state/territory to accomplish this feat: Marisol Malaret in the 70s (1970), Deborah Carthy-Deu in the 80s (1985), Dayanara Torres in the 90s (1993), and Denise Quiñones (2001) & Zuleyka Rivera (2006) in the 2000s.
  • In the new millenium, Switzerland has achieved all three finalist levels in three consecutive years, in the ascending order. Miss Switzerland 2004 Bianca Nicole Sissing became quarter-finalist, Miss Swtizerland 2005 Fiona Hefti became Semi-finalist and Miss Switzerland 2006 Lauriane Gilliéron became one of the Top 5 finalists and became 2nd runner-up.

Delegates

  • Miss Universe 1957, Gladys Zender of Peru is the youngest Miss Universe in history. She was 17 when she won the title. The Miss Universe Organization let her keep the crown because in Peru a woman is declared her approximate age once she passes the 6 month duration of the current age.
  • The very first Miss Universe (from Finland), the very first Miss Asia (from Taiwan), the very first Miss International (from Colombia) and the very first Miss ASEAN (from Malaysia) all married Filipinos.
  • On three occasions, contestants that did not place in Miss World: Georgina Rizk, Angela Visser, and Mpule Kwelagobe, won Miss Universe. However, no contestant who failed to place at Miss Universe have ever gone on to win Miss World.
  • At 5'4" tall, Miss Thailand 1965, Apasra Hongsakula is the shortest Miss Universe ever crowned.
  • In 1957, Miss USA Mary Leona Gage was disqualified for being married, though she had qualified for the semi-finals. She was replaced by Miss Argentina.
  • Amparo Muñoz of Spain, Miss Universe 1974, was dethroned shortly before her reign ended and did not crown her successor, but she was not formally replaced. Amparo's runner-up, Helen Morgan of Wales, went on to represent the United Kingdom in the Miss World pageant later that same year. She won, only to resign a few days later when she was revealed to be an unwed mother.
  • Trinidad & Tobago's Janelle Commissiong became the first woman of black descent to be crowned Miss Universe, in 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The first black African to win Miss Universe of was Mpule Kwelagobe, of Botswana, crowned in 1999 at Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago.
  • Only once have black women won Miss Universe in succession. Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad & Tobago won the title in 1998, followed by Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana in 1999.
  • Andrea Stelzer was Miss South Africa in 1985, but pulled out of Miss Universe because of anti-apartheid demonstrations. She competed in 1989 as Miss Germany, and was a top 10 semi-finalist.
  • Miss Lebanon 2001, Christina Sawaya, pulled out of the 2002 Miss Universe competition because of the participation of Miss Israel. She went on to win the rival Miss International competition in the same year.
  • 2002's winner, Oxana Fedorova of Russia, became the first Miss Universe who officially did not finish her reign, making first runner-up Justine Pasek the first Panamanian to hold the title. Fedorova was crowned in Puerto Rico in mid-May, and was replaced by Pasek in late September. It is unclear whether Fedorova was fired for failure to perform her duties (the official version), or chose to resign because she had not expected the heavy workload.
  • The strong rivalry between Puerto Rico and Venezuela is so well-known in Latin-American popular culture, that their struggle has been immortalized in several Spanish-language television commercials in the United States for such companies as MasterCard and Budweiser. In the latter, former Miss Universe winners Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico and Alicia Machado of Venezuela cause mayhem in a sports bar as they compete to win the admiration of the men present.
  • A new trend of delegates representing countries they were not born in has developed. Miss Universe 2002 Justine Pasek was born in Kharkiv Ukraine, where her Panamanian mother was completing her University studies. Miss Israel 2005, Elena Ralph was also born in Ukraine and moved to Israel when she was 18 years old. The most famous country-swapper was probably Natascha Borger. After placing 12th in the 2000 Venezuelan pageant she moved to Germany where she easily won the crown of Germanys Universe. Other notable contestants who represent countries other than their birth place include the Miss Universe Canada and Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova who is Russian by birth and Miss Germany Universe 2006 Natalie Ackermann who is Colombian by birth and Venezuelan born Francis Barraza Sudnicka representing Poland. Such is also reflected in the growing number of delegates from different parts of the world being sent to a third country (almost always Latin American) for further training before going on to the host country and compete in the pageant proper.
  • In 1999, Botswana sent its first ever delegate to the pageant and she won.
  • In 2007 Jamaica will send the first contestant ever who is a rastafari.

Winners

  • Natalie Glebova of Canada, Miss Universe 2005 reigned for the longest period in Miss Universe history: one year and two months from the time she was crowned on May 31, 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Miss Universe 2000, Lara Dutta's (India) finalist interview was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her perfect interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 mark. It was the last year such scores were televised (Something that most viewers miss a lot.)
  • Highest Televised Scores in the Semi-Finals:

Swimsuit competition - 9.88 by Oxana Fedorova of Russia in 2002.

Interview compeititon - 9.843 by Milka Chulina of Venezuela in 1993.

Evening Gown competition - 9.897 by Carolina Gomez Correa of Colombia in 1994.

Awards

Further information: Miss Universe Special Awards
  • The Philippines has won the Miss Photogenic award six times, followed by England and Puerto Rico, both with five. Puerto Rico won its five awards during a six-year period (1999-2004, did not win in 2000).
  • Colombia has won the Best National Costume Award six times.
  • Guam has won the Miss Congeniality award four times.
  • No Miss Congeniality has ever gone on to win Miss Universe. The closest was Miss El Salvador 1955, who was 1st runner-up.
  • The only Miss Universe to win 3 other awards on pageant night was Denise Quiñones (Miss Puerto Rico), who in 2001 also won Miss Photogenic, Bluepoint Swimsuit Award, and Clairol Best Style Award.
  • Four Miss Universe winners were awarded Miss Photogenic: Margareta Arvidsson (Sweden, 1966), Margarita Moran (Philippines, 1973), Janelle Commissiong (Trinidad/Tobago, 1977) and Denise Quiñones (Puerto Rico, 2001)
  • Three titleholders have also won Best National Costume: Porntip Nakhirunkanok (Thailand, 1988), Wendy Fitzwilliams (Trinidad/Tobago, 1998) and Amelia Vega (Dominican Republic, 2003)

The Miss Universe Creed

From 1960 to 1990, the Miss Universe Creed was read at each pageant:

"We, the young women of the universe, believe people everywhere are seeking peace, tolerance and mutual understanding. We pledge to spread this message in every way we can, wherever we go."

The Crown

  • Kept by the Miss Universe Organization to be used in the crowning of the new Miss Universe every year.
  • Valued at $250,000.
  • 120 pearls South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3.0 - 18 mm.
  • Design depicts the phoenix rising, which signifies status, power and beauty.
  • The Crown was designed specifically for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan, Mikimoto crown and tiara first used for Miss Universe 2002.

References and footnotes

  1. ^ El Financiero (newspaper), "México será sede de Miss Universo 2007", March 29 2007
  2. ^ The Miss Universe Mikimoto Crown

External links

Template:MUO

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