Miss Universe 2005 was the 54th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Arena Hall in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 31 May 2005.

At the end of the event, Jennifer Hawkins of Australia crowned Natalie Glebova of Canada as Miss Universe 2005. It is Canada's first victory in twenty-three years, and the second victory in the pageant's history.

Contestants from eighty-one countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.

Background

Location and date Thailand publicized its bid to host the pageant on 10 July 2004, during a visit by Jennifer Hawkins to the country. At the time, Chile, China, and Greece were also being considered to host the event. One month later, it was announced that Thailand had been informally selected to host the competition, at a cost of US$6.5 million. The cost was to be funded by the Thai government in an attempt to boost tourism. In October, the proposal faced difficulties when the Thai government were slow to provide the promised funds, which discouraged prospective sponsors, leading Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to become personally involved to make sure that plans were not derailed. The organization awarded official hosting rights to the Matching Entertainment company in December 2004, after an unsuccessful attempt by a different company, Showcase Thailand 2005.

In February 2005, after the Thai government confirmed plans to back the pageant, the Deputy Prime Minister refuted claims that the event would be held in Khao Lak, a resort town devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, but confirmed that Southern Thailand would host events prior to the final competition.

Selection of participants Contestants from eighty-one countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Six delegates were appointees to their position to replace the original dethroned winner.

Jana Doleželová, Miss České Republiky 2004, was originally supposed to compete at Miss Universe but did not compete after the Miss České Republiky organization lost the Miss Universe franchise license to the newly formed Česká Miss pageant. Cheryl Ankrah was originally crowned Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2005 but was dethroned after she was accused of not fulfilling her duties and becoming overweight. Although Ankrah initially got an injunction to prevent another pageant being held, a Judge overturned that and a second Miss Trinidad and Tobago pageant was held. The winner of the second pageant, who represented Trinidad and Tobago at Miss Universe, was Magdalene Walcott. Miss Hanoi-Vietnam 2005 Hằng Phạm became Vietnam's representative in this year's competition after Miss Vietnam Photogenic 2004 Diễm Bùi refused to compete because of her studies.

The 2005 edition saw the debut of Latvia, and the returns of Albania, Indonesia, Mauritius, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States Virgin Islands, and Zambia. Indonesia and Sri Lanka last competed in 1996, Zambia in 1999, the United Kingdom (as Great Britain) in 2000, the United States Virgin Islands in 2002, while the others last competed in 2003. Austria, Botswana, the Cayman Islands, Chinese Taipei, Estonia, Ghana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Sweden after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate. Marina Rodrigues of Portugal was set to compete at Miss Universe. However, Rodrigues withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

Results Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2005 – Natalie Glebova 1st Runner-Up – Cynthia Olavarría 2nd Runner-Up – Renata Soñé 3rd Runner-Up – Laura Elizondo 4th Runner-Up – Mónica Spear Top 10 – Elena Ralph – Ieva Kokoreviča – Débora Sulca – Fiona Hefti – Chelsea Cooley Top 15 – Evangelia Aravani – Artika Sari Devi – Helene Tråsavik – Claudia Henkel – Magdalene Walcott

Special awards

Award Contestant Miss Photogenic – Gionna Cabrera Miss Congeniality – Tricia Homer

Best National Costume Result Contestant Winner – Chananporn Rosjan 1st Runner-up – Kateřina Smejkalová 2nd Runner-up – Laura Elizondo Top 5 – Gionna Cabrera – Weniecka Ewing

Pageant Format Same with 2003, fifteen semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The fifteen semifinalists competed in the evening gown and were narrowed down to ten afterward. The ten semifinalists competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final look.

Selection committee Final telecast Heidi Albertsen – Danish model, winner of Elite Model Look World Final Kevin S. Bright – Executive producer of Friends Mario Cimarro – Cuban actor Bryan Dattilo – Days of Our Lives actor Carson Kressley – Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fashion expert Cassie Lewis – American Model Louis Licari – Celebrity hairstylist Anne Martin – from Cover Girl and Max Factor marketing Porntip Nakhirunkanok – Miss Universe 1988 from Thailand Oleksandra Nikolayenko – Miss Ukraine Universe 2004 Chutinant Bhirombhakdi – Executive Vice Director, Director of Boon Rawd Brewery Jean-Georges Vongerichten – French chef

Contestants Eighty-one contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Albania 19 Istog AngolaZenilde Josias22Luanda Antigua and BarbudaShermain Jeremy23Parham ArubaLuisana Cicilia21Oranjestad AustraliaMichelle Guy19Perth BahamasDenia Nixon19Nassau BarbadosNada Yearwood21Saint Michael BelgiumDebby de Waele20Brussels BelizeAndrea Elrington22Belize City BoliviaAndrea Abudinen21Santa Cruz de la Sierra BrazilCarina Beduschi20Florianópolis BulgariaGalina Gancheva19Varna CanadaNatalie Glebova23Toronto ChileRenata Ruiz21Santiago ChinaSiyuan Tao21Chengdu ColombiaAdriana Tarud22Barranquilla Costa RicaJohanna Fernández23Santa Ana CroatiaJelena Glišić18Karlovac CuraçaoRychacviana Coffie24Suffisant CyprusElena Hadjidemetriou22Nicosia Czech RepublicKateřina Smejkalová22Bohuňovice DenmarkGitte Hanspal23Copenhagen Dominican RepublicRenata Soñé22Santo Domingo EcuadorXimena Zamora20Quito EgyptMeriam George18Cairo El SalvadorIrma Dimas18San Salvador EthiopiaAtetegeb Tesfaye23Addis Ababa FinlandHanna Ek21Ilola FranceCindy Fabre19Falaise GeorgiaRusudan Bochoidze21Tbilisi GermanyAslı Bayram24Darmstadt GreeceEvangelia Aravani19Lefkada GuatemalaAida Karina Estrada19Guatemala City GuyanaCandisie Franklin24Linden HungarySzandra Proksa23Siófok IndiaAmrita Thapar23Pune IndonesiaArtika Sari Devi25Pangkal Pinang IrelandMary Gormley21Dublin IsraelElena Ralph21Ramat Gan ItalyMaria Teresa Francville18Veneto JamaicaRaquel Wright23Kingston JapanYukari Kuzuya21Ichinomiya KenyaRachel Marete19Nairobi LatviaIeva Kokoreviča19Limbaži LebanonNadine Njeim21Beirut MalaysiaAngela Gan23Tawau MauritiusMagalie Antoo23Port Louis MexicoLaura Elizondo21Tampico NamibiaAdele Basson24Khomas NetherlandsSharita Sopacua22Utrecht NicaraguaDaniela Clerk23Managua NigeriaRoseline Amusu21Lagos NorwayHelene Tråsavik18Rogaland PanamaRosa María Hernández22Los Santos ParaguayKarina Buttner23Asunción PeruDébora Sulca19Cajamarca PhilippinesGionna Cabrera22Pasig PolandMarta Kossakowska20Bydgoszcz Puerto RicoCynthia Olavarría23San Juan RussiaNatalia Nikolaeva18Rostov Serbia and MontenegroJelena Mandić26Belgrade SingaporeCheryl Tay24Singapore SlovakiaMichaela Drencková19Bratislava SloveniaDalila Dragojevič20Vrhnika South AfricaClaudia Henkel22Pretoria South KoreaSo-young Kim24Seoul SpainVerónica Hidalgo23Gerona Sri LankaRozanne Diasz26Gampaha SwitzerlandFiona Hefti25Zürich ThailandChananporn Rosjan23Bangkok Trinidad and TobagoMagdalene Walcott22Tunapuna–Piarco TurkeyDilek Aksoy21İzmir Turks and Caicos IslandsWeniecka Ewing18Blue Hills UkraineJuliya Chernyshova18Kyiv United KingdomBrooke Johnston26London United StatesChelsea Cooley21Charlotte United States Virgin IslandsTricia Homer23Saint Thomas UruguayViviana Arena22Salto VenezuelaMónica Spear20Maracaibo VietnamHằng Phạm20Hanoi Zambia Cynthia Kanema24Kabwe

Notes

References

External links Miss Universe official website