Miss Universe 2011 was the 60th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil, on 12 September 2011.
At the end of the event, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico crowned Leila Lopes of Angola as Miss Universe 2011, marking the country's first win at the pageant.
Contestants from eighty-nine countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous 86 contestants at Miss Universe 2006. The pageant was hosted by Andy Cohen and Natalie Morales, with commentary and analysis by Jeannie Mai and Shandi Finnessey. Brazilian singer-songwriter Bebel Gilberto and Brazilian pop singer Claudia Leitte were the performers.
Background
Location and date On 16 December 2010, Donald Trump, owner of the Miss Universe Organization, and Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, announced that the 60th anniversary of the competition will take place in São Paulo, Brazil on 12 September 2011. This came months after Trump negotiated with the media conglomerate Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação to host the pageant in São Paulo. According to Joao Carlos Saad, president of Grupo Bandeirantes, the network was pleased that they have reached an agreement with Miss Universe to host the pageant in São Paulo, Brazil. The event aired on NBC in the United States, with a Spanish simulcast on Telemundo.
Selection of participants Contestants from eighty-nine countries and territories were selected to compete in the competition. Six of these contestants were appointees to their positions after being a runner-up of their national pageant or being selected through a casting process, while three were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Replacements Evalina van Putten replaced Miss Curaçao 2011,Monifa Jansen as she did not meet the age requirements. Jansen competed at Miss Universe 2012. Mayra Aldana, the first runner-up of Nuestra Belleza El Salvador 2011, replaced Alejandra Ochoa, Nuestra Belleza Universo 2011, who had a chronic respiratory illness. Mai Phương Thúy, Miss Vietnam 2006, was to represent Vietnam at Miss Universe, but did not for personal reasons. The Ministry of Culture of Vietnam was granted permission to appoint Vũ Thị Hoàng My, who was the first runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2010, as their representative.
Returns and withdrawals The 2011 edition saw the returns of the Cayman Islands, Chile, Estonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Vietnam. Portugal last competed in 2002, Chile last competed in 2006, Saint Lucia last competed in 2007, Turks and Caicos last competed in 2008, while the others last competed in 2009. Norway and Zambia withdrew. Sara Nicole Andersen of Norway was crowned ten days after the arrival of contestants in São Paulo. Due to this, Andersen withdrew from the competition. However, Andersen competed in the pageant the following year. Zambia withdrew after its respective organization failed to hold a national competition or appoint a contestant.
Lisa Morgan of Zimbabwe was not allowed to compete after the Miss Universe Organization denied her participation and she went on to compete in Miss International 2011 held in Chengdu, China instead.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2011 – Leila Lopes 1st Runner-Up – Olesya Stefanko 2nd Runner-Up – Priscila Machado 3rd Runner-Up – Shamcey Supsup 4th Runner-Up – Zilin Lou Top 10 – Scherri-Lee Biggs – Johanna Solano – Laury Thilleman – Sheldry Sáez – Laura Gonçalves § Top 16 – Catalina Robayo – Afërdita Dreshaj – Kelly Weekers – Viviana Ortiz – Alyssa Campanella – Vanessa Gonçalves § - Voted into the Top 16 by viewers
Special awards Award Contestant Miss Congeniality – Nikolina Lončar Miss Photogenic – Ronnia Fornstedt Best National Costume Winner: – Sheldry Sáez Top 10 (in order): – Karin Ontiveros – Chanyasorn Sakornchan – Vanessa Gonçalves – Evalina van Putten – Gabrielle Walcott – Nelly Kamwelu – Olivia Pinheiro – Sophie Gemal – Maria Kamiyama
Pageant Format The Miss Universe Organization introduced several specific changes to the format for this edition. The results of the preliminary competition— which consisted of the swimsuit and evening gown competition, and the closed-door interview, determined the fifteen semifinalists. For the first time in its sixty-year history, the organization will implement a pre-pageant fan vote where fans are able to vote for their favorite contestant to automatically advance to the semifinals. This changes the number of semifinalists from fifteen to sixteen. Aside from that, viewers can also rank each contestant during the live pageant.
The sixteen semifinalists competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to ten afterward. The ten semifinalists competed in the evening gown competition and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final look. During the telecast, viewers are able to see on-screen a fan-voting meter which instantly reveals the scores of the contestants from the real-time voting.
Selection committee
Preliminary competition BJ Coleman – President and CEO of Coleman Entertainment Group Francesca Romana Diana – Italian jewelry designer Ana Paula Junqueira – President of the League of Women Voters and United Nations Secretary-General in Brazil Scott Lazerson – Philanthropist and former head of the Larry King Foundation Matheus Mazzafera – Stylist and reality television show host Jimmy Nguyen – Entertainment and new media lawyer, spokesperson for equal rights and diversity Lara Spotts – Vice-President of East Coast Development for the Bravo Network
Final telecast Hélio Castroneves – Brazilian auto racing driver and three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Connie Chung – American journalist and television news broadcaster Isabeli Fontana – Brazilian supermodel Vivica A. Fox – American actress and television producer Adrienne Maloof-Nassif – American businesswoman and television personality Lea Salonga – Filipina singer and actress Amelia Vega – Miss Universe 2003 from the Dominican Republic
Contestants Eighty-nine contestants competed for the title. Country/TerritoryContestantAgeHometown Albania 20 Tirana AngolaLeila LopesBenguela ArgentinaNatalia Rodríguez25Buenos Aires ArubaGillain Berry24Oranjestad Australia 21 Perth BahamasAnastagia Pierre22Nassau Belgium Wevelgem BoliviaOlivia Pinheiro27Santa Cruz BotswanaLarona Kgabo25Gaborone BrazilPriscila Machado25Canoas British Virgin IslandsSheroma Hodge26Tortola CanadaChelsae Durocher20Tecumseh Cayman IslandsCristin Alexander24George Town ChileVanessa Ceruti25Santiago China 24 Shanghai ColombiaCatalina RobayoCali Costa RicaJohanna Solano20Escazu CroatiaNatalija Prica22Zagreb CuraçaoEvalina van Putten19Willemstad CyprusAndriani Karantoni18Larnaca Czech RepublicJitka NováčkováČeské Budějovice DenmarkSandra Amer21Copenhagen Dominican RepublicDalia Fernández21Santiago de los Caballeros EcuadorClaudia Schiess21Santa Cruz EgyptSara El-Khouly23Alexandria El SalvadorMayra Aldana25San Salvador EstoniaMadli Vilsar20Kuressaare FinlandPia Pakarinen20Vantaa FranceLaury Thilleman20Brest GeorgiaEka Gurtskaia25Tbilisi GermanyValeria Bystritskaia25Karlsruhe GhanaYayra Nego26Accra Great BritainChloe-Beth Morgan25Cwmbran GreeceIliana Papageorgiou23Patras GuamShayna Afaisen24Inalåhan GuatemalaAlejandra Barillas25Zacapa GuyanaKara Lord23Georgetown HaitiAnedie Azael22Port-au-Prince HondurasKeylin Gómez23Cortés HungaryBetta Lipcsei23Szarvas IndiaVasuki Sunkavalli27Hyderabad IndonesiaNadine AlexandraJakarta IrelandAoife Hannon19Listowel IsraelKim Edri19Sderot ItalyElisa Torrini22Rome JamaicaShakira Martin25Kingston JapanMaria Kamiyama24Tokyo KazakhstanValeriya Aleinikova22Almaty KosovoAfërdita Dreshaj25Pristina LebanonYara Khoury Mikhael19Beirut MalaysiaDeborah Priya Henry26Kuala Lumpur MauritiusLaetitia Darche20Flic-en-Flac MexicoKarin Ontiveros23Amatitán MontenegroNikolina Lončar18Pljevlja NetherlandsKelly Weekers22Maastricht New ZealandPriyani Puketapu20Wellington NicaraguaAdriana DornManagua NigeriaSophie Gemal22Abuja PanamaSheldry Sáez19Chitré ParaguayAlba Riquelme20Asunción PeruNatalie Vértiz19Lima PhilippinesShamcey Supsup25General Santos PolandRozalia Mancewicz24Białystok PortugalLaura Gonçalves22Lisbon Puerto RicoViviana Ortiz25Corozal RomaniaLarisa Popa24Slatina RussiaNatalia Gantimurova20Moscow Saint LuciaJoy-Ann Biscette25Castries SerbiaAnja Šaranović21Belgrade SingaporeValerie Lim26Singapore SlovakiaDagmar KolesárováRevúca SloveniaEma Jagodič21Ljubljana South AfricaBokang Montjane25Johannesburg South Korea 20 Seoul SpainPaula Guilló22Elche Sri LankaStephanie Siriwardhana23Colombo SwedenRonnia Fornstedt20Södertälje SwitzerlandKerstin CookKriens TanzaniaNelly Kamwelu19Dar Es Salaam ThailandChanyasorn Sakornchan21Chonburi Trinidad and TobagoGabrielle Walcott27Port of Spain TurkeyMelisa Aslı Pamuk20Istanbul Turks and Caicos IslandsEasher Parker19Providenciales UkraineOlesya Stefanko23Odesa United StatesAlyssa Campanella21Los Angeles United States Virgin IslandsAlexandrya Evans25Saint Croix UruguayFernanda Semino18Montevideo VenezuelaVanessa GonçalvesCaracas Vietnam 20 Đồng Nai
Notes
References
External links
Official Miss Universe website