Miss Universe 2021 was the 70th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel, on 13 December 2021.
At the end of the event, Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned Miss Universe 2021 by Andrea Meza of Mexico. It was India's first victory in twenty-one years, and the third in the country's in the pageant history. Sandhu became the first ever Sikh to win the title.
Contestants from eighty countries and territories competed in the pageant. Steve Harvey returned as the host; Harvey last served as host during Miss Universe 2019. Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst, and Carson Kressley served as backstage correspondents. JoJo, Noa Kirel, Harel Skaat, Valerie Hamaty, and Narkis performed in this year's pageant.
Fox returned as the official broadcaster of the show after being absent for the previous edition. It was broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers in 172 countries. This was also the final edition to be aired on an American broadcast television network.
Background
Location and date In January 2021, the Miss Universe Organization was reportedly in talks to host the 2021 edition of the competition in Costa Rica in late 2021 or early 2022. The negotiations were later confirmed by Gustavo Segura, serving as the Minister of Tourism in the government of Costa Rica. In May 2021, in her first interview to People en Español after her coronation, Andrea Meza stated that the next edition of the pageant could possibly take place at the end of 2021. She also acknowledged the fact that her reign would be one of the shortest in the history of the pageant.
Two months after the interview, the Miss Universe Organization confirmed that the competition would be in Eilat, Israel in December 2021. On 27 October 2021, the pageant was confirmed to be on 12 December 2021, at the Universe Dome, a custom-built and temporary arena imported to Eilat from Portugal. Also announced was that the chosen venue was to work with maximum capacity (5,000 spectators) to avoid precautious concerns on a potential COVID-19 resurgence, after the 2020 pageant (held in May 2021) was scaled down to 1,750 spectators (nearly one-quarter of the venue capacity) due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
Selection of participants Contestants from eighty countries and territories were selected to compete in the competition. Twenty-seven of these delegates were appointees to their positions after being a runner-up of their national pageant or being selected through a casting process, while two were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Replacements Miss France 2021, Amandine Petit, was initially supposed to compete, while Miss France 2020, Clémence Botino, was supposed to compete in Miss Universe 2020. A switch happened between the two delegates due to a potential date conflict between Miss Universe 2021 and Miss France 2022, at which Petit was contractually obligated to be present. Debbie Aflalo, originally the first runner-up of Miss Dominican Republic 2021, was appointed to represent the country after the original winner, Andreína Martínez, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before her scheduled departure. Kawtar Benhalima, originally the first runner-up of Miss Universe Morocco 2021, was appointed to represent the country after the original winner, Fatima-Zahra Khayat, was injured in a car accident.
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals This edition marked the debut of Bahrain, and saw the returns of Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sweden, and Turkey; Morocco last competed in 1978, which makes the country's first time to compete after four decades of absence from Miss Universe, Greece, Guatemala, and Hungary last competed in 2018, while the others last competed in 2019. Barbados, Belize, Indonesia, and Malaysia withdrew for travel restrictions while Myanmar and Uruguay withdrew for undisclosed reasons. Expected to debut in the competition was the United Arab Emirates, but plans changed following the cancellation of its national pageant.
Incidents before the competition Miss South Africa 2021, Lalela Mswane, refused to withdraw from the pageant after pressure from the South African government. Minister of Arts, Sport and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, announced that the government refused to associate itself with the pageant as "the atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented."
Clémence Botino of France, later tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Israel, and was taken to a government isolation hotel. She had been fully vaccinated, and had tested upon departure. Botino was released from quarantine after ten days and was authorized to rejoin the competition.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2021 – Harnaaz Sandhu 1st Runner-Up – Nadia Ferreira 2nd Runner-Up – Lalela Mswane Top 5 – Valeria Ayos – Beatrice Gomez Top 10 – Thessaly Zimmerman – Chantel O'Brian – Clémence Botino – Michelle Colón – Elle Smith Top 16 – Emma Collingridge – Juri Watanabe – Brenda Smith – Nandita Banna – Luiseth Materán – Kim Duyên Nguyễn § § - Voted into the Top 16 by viewers
Special awards Award Contestant Best National Costume – Maristella OkpalaFan Vote Winner – Kim Duyên NguyễnSocial Impact Award – Antonia FigueroaSpirit of Carnival Award – Chantel O'Brian
Pageant Format The Miss Universe Organization introduced several specific changes to the format for this edition. The number of semifinalists was reduced to sixteen— the same number of semifinalists in 2017. The results of the preliminary competition— which consisted of the swimsuit and evening gown competition, and the closed-door interview, determined the sixteen semifinalists selected at large. The internet voting is still being implemented, with fans being able to vote for another delegate to advance into the semifinals. 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 preliminary question and answer round, and the final three was chosen. The final word portion was brought back, after which Miss Universe 2021 and her two runners-up were announced.
Selection committee Lori Harvey – American model and daughter of Steve Harvey Adriana Lima – Brazilian model Adamari López – Puerto Rican actress Iris Mittenaere – Miss Universe 2016 from France Urvashi Rautela – Indian actress and Miss Universe India 2015 Marian Rivera – Filipino actress and model Rena Sofer – American actress (only as final telecast judge) Cheslie Kryst – American television presenter and Miss USA 2019 (only as preliminary judge) Rina Mor – Miss Universe 1976 from Israel (only as preliminary judge)
Contestants Eighty contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Albania 27 Tirana Argentina Julieta García 22 Bahía Blanca Armenia Nane Avetisyan 24 Yerevan Aruba Thessaly Zimmerman 27 Oranjestad Australia Daria Varlamova 27 Melbourne The Bahamas Chantel O'Brian 27 Nassau Bahrain Manar Deyani 25 Riffa Belgium Kedist Deltour 24 Nazareth Bolivia Nahemi Uequin 20 Santa Cruz Brazil Teresa Santos 23 Maranguape British Virgin Islands Xaria Penn 18 Tortola Bulgaria Elena Danova 21 Krichim Cambodia Marady Ngin 22 Phnom Penh Cameroon Michèle-Ange Minkata 27 Yaoundé Canada Tamara Jemuovic 27 Toronto Cayman Islands Georgina Kerford 18 George Town Chile Antonia Figueroa 26 La Serena China Shiyin Yang 20 Beijing Colombia Valeria Ayos 27 Cartagena Costa Rica Valeria Rees 28 Heredia Croatia Ora Ivanišević 20 Dubrovnik Curaçao Shariëngela Cijntje 27 Willemstad Czech Republic Karolína Kokešová 25 Prague Denmark Sara Langtved 26 Copenhagen Dominican Republic Debbie Aflalo 27 Azua Ecuador Susy Sacoto 24 Portoviejo El Salvador Alejandra Gavidia 25 San Salvador Equatorial Guinea Martina Mituy 19 Ebibeyin Finland Essi Unkuri 23 Vaasa France Clémence Botino 24 Baie-Mahault Germany Hannah Seifer 19 Düsseldorf Ghana Naa Commodore 26 Accra Great Britain Emma Collingridge 23 Suffolk Greece Sofia Arapogianni 22 Ithaca Guatemala Dannia Guevara 24 Ayutla Haiti Pascale Belony 28 Cap-Haïtien Honduras Rose Meléndez 27 Limón Hungary Jázmin Viktória 20 Budapest Iceland Elísa Steinþórsdóttir 22 Garðabær India Harnaaz Sandhu 21 Chandigarh Ireland Katharine Walker 26 Belfast Israel Noa Cochva 22 Bnei Atarot Italy Caterina di Fuccia 23 Marcianise Jamaica Daena Soares 22 Mona Japan Juri Watanabe 25 Tokyo Kazakhstan Aziza Tokashova 27 Almaty Kenya Roshanara Ebrahim 28 Nairobi Kosovo Shkurtesa Sejdiu 19 Gjilan Laos Tonkham Phonchanheuang 26 Vientiane Malta Jade Cini 26 Valletta Mauritius Anne Murielle Ravina 26 Rodrigues Mexico Débora Hallal 25 Los Mochis Morocco Kawtar Benhalima 22 Marrakesh Namibia Chelsi Shikongo 24 Walvis Bay Nepal Sujita Basnet 28 Kathmandu Netherlands Julia Sinning 24 Amsterdam Nicaragua Allison Wassmer 26 Managua Nigeria Maristella Okpala 28 Anambra Norway Nora Nakken 23 Trondheim Panama Brenda Smith 27 Panama City Paraguay Nadia Ferreira 22 Villarrica Peru Yely Rivera 27 Arequipa Philippines Beatrice Gomez 26 Cebu City Poland Agata Wdowiak 25 Łódź Portugal Orícia dos Santos 27 Lisbon Puerto Rico Michelle Colón 21 Loíza Romania Carmina Cotfas 21 Cluj-Napoca Russia Ralina Arabova 22 Kazan Singapore Nandita Banna 21 Singapore Slovakia Veronika Ščepánková 26 Bratislava South Africa Lalela Mswane 24 Richards Bay South Korea Jisu Kim 23 Seoul Spain Sarah Loinaz 23 San Sebastián Sweden Moa Sandberg 25 Stockholm Thailand Anchilee Scott-Kemmis 22 Chachoengsao Turkey Cemrenaz Turhan 23 Istanbul Ukraine Hannah Neplyakh 27 Dnipro United States Elle Smith 23 Louisville Venezuela Luiseth Materán 25 Los Teques Vietnam Kim Duyên Nguyễn 26 Cần Thơ
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