Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 17 December 2018.
At the conclusion of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of the Philippines as Miss Universe 2018. This was the Philippines' fourth victory after their recent victory in 2015.
Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of ninety-two in 2017. The pageant was hosted by Steve Harvey in his fourth consecutive year, along with supermodel Ashley Graham. Television personality Carson Kressley and runway coach Lu Sierra provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo performed in this year's pageant.
Background Location and date
The Miss Universe Organization was in talks to host the pageant in China. Negotiations collapsed after the Chinese refused to broadcast the pageant live. Afterward, the Miss Universe Organization opened negotiations with the Philippines after they had previously hosted Miss Universe 2016.
In April 2018, then-Secretary of Tourism Wanda Tulfo Teo spoke with President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte regarding the possibility of hosting the pageant in Boracay in November. On 6 May, Tulfo-Teo announced that the Philippines had a "90% chance" of hosting the pageant and also disclosed that the tourism department would be looking for sponsors since the LCS Holdings Inc. of Chavit Singson, the major sponsor of Miss Universe 2016, had declined to finance the 2018 pageant. On 18 May, Tulfo-Teo's successor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that the country dropped the hosting bid due to budget constraints and other concerns. Romulo-Puyat also pointed out that the Philippines had hosted the pageant recently in 2016, and had no reason to do so again so soon.
On 31 July, Miss Universe Organization President, Paula Shugart announced in a live press conference at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre that the 2018 pageant would be held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 December. The city had previously hosted the Miss Universe pageant twice, in 1992 and 2005. The reigning Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters with Miss Universe 1965 Apasra Hongsakula and Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova participated in the announcement. The national costume competition took place on 10 December 2018 at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya, Thailand.
Selection of participants Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Nine of these delegates were appointees to their titles after being a runner-up of their national pageant or an audition process or other internal selection.
Ángela Ponce of Spain was the first openly transgender delegate to compete in the pageant. Despite not being one of the twenty semi-finalists, Ponce was recognized by the Miss Universe Organization for her historical importance during the competition. The pageant rules were changed to allow transgender women to compete in 2012."Jenna Talackova, transgendered Miss Universe Canada contestant, shines in spotlight" . Toronto Star, 18 May 2012.
Replacements Zoé Brunet, the first runner-up of Miss Belgium 2018, was appointed to represent Belgium after Miss Belgium 2018 Angeline Flor Pua chose to compete in Miss World 2018. Eva Colas of France and Magdalena Swat were also appointees to their titles after their original titleholders, Miss France 2018 Maëva Coucke and Miss Polonia 2017 Agata Biernat respectively, were unable to compete because of commitments to Miss World 2018. Coucke and Pua competed in the pageant the following year.
Debuts, returns and withdrawals The 2018 edition saw the debuts of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia and the returns of Belize, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, and Switzerland. Greece last competed in Miss Universe 2015, and the others in Miss Universe 2016.
Austria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Romania, Slovenia, and Tanzania withdrew after their respective organizations lost their Miss Universe license, failed to hold a national competition or designate a contestant. Guyana was suspended from participating in Miss Universe due to a controversy involving "nasty emails" and "death threats" sent to the organization over a delegate issue in 2017. No license holder replaced the previous license holder, forcing the country to withdraw. Trinidad and Tobago withdrew after they announced that there would be no pageant held, despite Martrecia Alleyne having crowned as Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago 2018 at their 2017 national pageant.
Marie Esther Bangura of Sierra Leone arrived in Bangkok after registrations had ended, and was unable to participate due to visa and logistical concerns. However, she was allowed to participate in the pageant's activities and watch the competition from the audience. She was also invited to compete in the next edition of the pageant.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2018 – Catriona Gray 1st Runner-Up – Tamaryn Green 2nd Runner-Up – Sthefany Gutiérrez Top 5 – Kiara Ortega – H'Hen Niê Top 10 – Marta Stępień – Natalia Carvajal – Akisha Albert – Manita Devkota – Sophida Kanchanarin Top 20 – Francesca Hung – Zoé Brunet – Mayra Dias – Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers – Enikő Kecskés – Sonia Fergina Citra – Grainne Gallanagh – Emily Maddison – Magdalena Swat – Sarah Summers
Special awards Award Contestant Best National Costume – On-anong Homsombath Miss Congeniality – Ornella Gunesekere
Pageant
Format The number of semifinalists was increased to twenty— the same number of semifinalists in 2006. The results of the preliminary competition— which was composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competition and closed-door interviews, determined the twenty semifinalists. The continental format was retained, with five semifinalists from the Americas, Europe, Africa & Asia-Pacific, and wildcards coming from any continental region. The twenty semifinalists competed in the opening statement round, after which the judges narrowed down the semifinalists to ten, who then competed in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions. After the swimwear and evening gown competitions, the judges then selected the top five to compete in the preliminary question and answer round. After said segment, the judges selected the final three, who participated in the final word and final look portions.
Selection committee The seven judges for both the preliminary competition and the final telecast were an all-female panel which included: Liliana Gil Valletta – businesswoman Janaye Ingram – political organizer and Miss New Jersey USA 2004 Monique Lhuillier – fashion designer Michelle McLean – Miss Universe 1992 from Namibia Iman Oubou – scientist, entrepreneur, and medical missionary Bui Simon – Miss Universe 1988 from Thailand Richelle Singson-Michael – Filipino architect and businesswoman
Contestants Ninety-four contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Continental Group Albania 18 Elbasan Europe AngolaAna Liliana Avião24AnduloAfrica & Asia-Pacific Argentina22Buenos AiresAmericas ArmeniaEliza Muradyan25EtchmiadzinEurope Aruba20WayacaAmericas AustraliaFrancesca Hung24SydneyAfrica & Asia-Pacific Bahamas23NassauAmericas Barbados27Christ ChurchAmericas BelgiumZoé Brunet18NamurEurope BelizeJenelli Fraser27Belize CityAmericas BoliviaJoyce Prado21Santa CruzAmericas BrazilMayra Dias27ItacoatiaraAmericas British Virgin IslandsA'yana Phillips23Sea Cows BayAmericas Bulgaria22PlovdivEurope CambodiaRern Nat22Kampong ChamAfrica & Asia-Pacific CanadaMarta Stępień24WindsorAmericas Cayman Islands24Bodden TownAmericas ChileAndrea Díaz27SantiagoAmericas ChinaMeisu Qin24AnshanAfrica & Asia-Pacific ColombiaValeria Morales20CaliAmericas Costa RicaNatalia Carvajal28San JoseAmericas CroatiaMia Pojatina23Nova GradiškaEurope CuraçaoAkisha Albert23WillemstadAmericas Czech RepublicLea Šteflíčková20PragueEurope DenmarkHelena Heuser22CopenhagenEurope Dominican RepublicAldy Bernard23Laguna SaladaAmericas Ecuador24PortoviejoAmericas Egypt22HurghadaAfrica & Asia-Pacific El SalvadorMarisela de Montecristo26San SalvadorAmericas FinlandAlina Voronkova23HelsinkiEurope FranceEva Colas22BastiaEurope GeorgiaLara Yan25TelaviEurope GermanyCéline Willers25MunichEurope GhanaAkpene Diata Hoggar25TefleAfrica & Asia-Pacific Great BritainDee-Ann Kentish-Rogers25BirminghamEurope Greece22VeriaEurope GuamAthena McNinch20MangilaoAfrica & Asia-Pacific GuatemalaMariana García19Guatemala CityAmericas HaitiSamantha Colas26Port-au-PrinceAmericas Honduras20Santa BárbaraAmericas HungaryEnikő Kecskés21BudapestEurope IcelandKatrín Lea Elenudóttir19ReykjavíkEurope IndiaNehal Chudasama22MumbaiAfrica & Asia-Pacific IndonesiaSonia Fergina Citra26Tanjung PandanAfrica & Asia-Pacific IrelandGrainne Gallanagh24BuncranaEurope IsraelNikol Reznikov18AfulaAfrica & Asia-Pacific ItalyErica De Matteis24RomeEurope JamaicaEmily Maddison19Saint AndrewAmericas JapanYuumi Kato22AichiAfrica & Asia-Pacific KazakhstanSabina Azimbayeva18AlmatyEurope Kenya22NairobiAfrica & Asia-Pacific KosovoZana Berisha24SuharekeEurope KyrgyzstanBegimay Karybekova20BishkekAfrica & Asia-Pacific LaosOn-anong Homsombath23Vientiane PrefectureAfrica & Asia-Pacific LebanonMaya Reaidy23TannourineAfrica & Asia-Pacific MalaysiaJane Teoh21PenangAfrica & Asia-Pacific MaltaFrancesca Mifsud22ŻejtunEurope Mauritius28FlacqAfrica & Asia-Pacific MexicoAndrea Toscano20ManzanilloAmericas Mongolia27UlaanbaatarAfrica & Asia-Pacific MyanmarHnin Thway Yu Aung22BagoAfrica & Asia-Pacific NamibiaSelma Kamanya21WindhoekAfrica & Asia-Pacific NepalManita Devkota23GorkhaAfrica & Asia-Pacific NetherlandsRahima Dirkse25RotterdamEurope New Zealand27AucklandAfrica & Asia-Pacific NicaraguaAdriana Paniagua23ChinandegaAmericas Nigeria21LagosAfrica & Asia-Pacific Norway22KarasjokEurope PanamaRosa Montezuma25Alto CaballeroAmericas ParaguayBelén Alderete24AsunciónAmericas PeruRomina Lozano21BellavistaAmericas PhilippinesCatriona Gray24OasAfrica & Asia-Pacific PolandMagdalena Swat27Ostrowiec ŚwiętokrzyskiEurope Portugal20SetúbalEurope Puerto RicoKiara Ortega25RincónAmericas RussiaYulia Polyachikhina18CheboksaryEurope Saint Lucia24CastriesAmericas Singapore23Singapore CityAfrica & Asia-Pacific SlovakiaBarbora Hanová24LučenecEurope South AfricaTamaryn Green24PaarlAfrica & Asia-Pacific South Korea 25 Daegu Africa & Asia-Pacific SpainÁngela Ponce27SevilleEurope Sri Lanka26Mount LaviniaAfrica & Asia-Pacific SwedenEmma Strandberg22HallstahammarEurope Switzerland20SpreitenbachEurope ThailandSophida Kanchanarin23BangkokAfrica & Asia-Pacific TurkeyTara De Vries20IstanbulEurope Ukraine23OdesaEurope United States 24 Omaha Americas United States Virgin Islands27Charlotte AmalieAmericas UruguaySofía Marrero18CanelonesAmericas VenezuelaSthefany Gutiérrez19BarcelonaAmericas VietnamH'Hen Niê26Đắk LắkAfrica & Asia-Pacific Zambia23LusakaAfrica & Asia-Pacific
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