Miss Universe

Miss Universe
	Logo of the Miss Universe pageant.
Motto	Confidently Beautiful
Formation	1952
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	New York City
Location	USA;
Official language	English
President	Paula Shugart
Affiliations	William Morris Endeavor
Website	www.missuniverse.com

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization.^[1] Along with its rival contests, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth, this pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The pageant was founded in 1952 by the California clothing company Pacific Mills, and is owned, along with Miss USA, by WME/IMG.^[6]

In 1998, Miss Universe, Inc. changed its name to Miss Universe Organization, and moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to New York City.^[7]^[8]

In 1998, the logo of Miss Universe – "the woman with stars" – was created,^[8] representing the beauty and responsibility of women around the Universe.^{[citation needed]} The same logo is used in present-day pageants.^[8]

In 2015, after Donald Trump made statements about illegal aliens from Mexico in his presidential campaign kickoff speech, NBC decided to end their business relationship and stated that they will no longer air the pageant, or the Miss USA pageant, on their networks.^[9] In September 2015, Trump bought the entire stock of the Miss Universe Organization from NBC, becoming its sole owner for three days until selling the entire stock to WME/IMG.^[6]

The current Miss Universe is Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines who was crowned on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, USA.

Traditionally, the Miss Universe winner lives in New York City during her tenure.^[10]

History[edit]

The title "Miss Universe" was first used by the International Pageant of Pulchritude in 1926. This contest was held annually until 1935, when the Great Depression and other events preceding World War II led to its demise.

Today's Miss Universe Pageant was founded after Yolande Betbeze, the winner of the 1951 Miss America pageant, refused to pose in a swimsuit from its major sponsor, Catalina Swimwear. The brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew its sponsorship 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, though not officially, to get married, shortly before her year was completed.^[11] Until 1958, the Miss Universe title, like that of Miss America, was dated by the year following the contest, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953.

Since its founding by Pacific Mills, the pageant has been organized and conducted by the Miss Universe Organization. Eventually Pacific Mills and its subsidiaries were acquired by the Kayser-Roth Corporation, which was in turn acquired by Gulf and Western Industries. Donald Trump acquired the pageant in 1996.^[12]

The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began broadcasting the combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in 1960, and as separate contests in 1965. John Charles Daly hosted the pageant from 1955 to 1966, Bob Barker from 1967 to 1987, Alan Thicke in 1988, John Forsythe in 1989, Dick Clark from 1990 to 1993, and Bob Goen from 1994 to 1996. In 2003, NBC outbid the other networks for the TV rights.^[13] From 2003 to 2014, the pageant was broadcast in the US on NBC. NBC and Univision dropped the pageant in 2015 due to comments made by presidential candidate Trump about undocumented immigrants from Mexico.^[9] Starting in 2015, Fox was the official broadcaster of the pageant.^[14]

Ownership[edit]

Up until September 2015, the Miss Universe Organization was a joint venture between NBC and Donald Trump. The company has run the contest since 2002.^[1] NBC cancelled all business relationships with the Miss Universe Organization and with Trump in response to his political comments about illegal immigration during his campaign for the presidency of the United States.^[15] In September 2015, Trump bought out NBC's 50% stake in the organization making him the company's sole owner, which he held for three days before selling the entire pageant to WME/IMG.^[16] The current president of the Miss Universe Organization is Paula Shugart.^[17]

Official song[edit]

Miss Universe's historical song, "You are my star", was the official song for the pageant from 1987 to 1995. It was sung by the "Little Sisters", a group of young children from the host country.^[18]

Competition formats[edit]

During the early years of the pageant, the delegates who made the first cut were announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 to the present day, the semifinalists were not announced until the night of the main event. The semifinalists once again competed in evening gown and swimsuit and five finalists were announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960 to decide the runners-up and the winner.

From 1959 to 1964 there were slight format changes. From 1959 through 1963 there was no cut to reach the five finalists. The runners-up and winner were called from the assembled 15 semifinalists. In 1965 the pageant returned to the original format of a cut to five finalists, and remained so until 1989. In 1969 a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant. In 1990 it had taken root, and with every pageant since the final contestants have had to answer a final question. In 1990 the pageant implemented major changes in the competition itself. Instead of five finalists, the field was reduced from ten semifinalists to six. Each contestant then randomly selected a judge and answered the question posed by the judge. After that, the field was narrowed down further to a final three. In 1998, the number of finalists was reduced to five, although there still was a cut to a final three. This continued until 2001, when the final five format was reinstated.

In the year 2000, the interview portion of the semifinal was dropped, and the contestants competed only in swimsuits and evening gowns, as in the early years of the pageant.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, the number of semifinalists was increased to fifteen, with cuts made to ten, and then to five contestants. The final question varied, each coming from the final delegates themselves and the current Miss Universe.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, twenty semifinalists were selected for the swimsuit competition, ten of whom went on to the evening gown competition. The five who passed that stage competed in an interview round, after which the runners-up and winner were announced. The 2007 contest followed a similar format, with fifteen contestants competing in the swimsuit stage.^{[citation needed]} In 2011, for the first time, one of the sixteen semifinalists was selected exclusively by TV viewers via online voting.^{[citation needed]} In the 2014 contest held in January 2015, a final question was chosen from thousands submitted by Facebook.^[19]

In 2015, the contest followed a similar format from its previous years. In the final 5, a contestant answered the question which is related to national issue of their country. After that, the field was narrowed down further to a final three who will then go on to answer one common question, the final Q and A. Finally, there will be a final vote based on overall impression and performance in the last round. For the first time, the one slot for the final judging in live telecast is from the viewers who voted from all over the world.^{[citation needed]}

Contestant selection[edit]

Local organizations that wish to select the Miss Universe contestant for their countries must submit bids to the Miss Universe Organization for that right. Occasionally, the traditional license holder for a particular country may lose its bid, as has happened in Italy, Denmark, France, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, and more.

Usually a country's candidate selection involves pageants in major cities, whose winners compete in a national pageant, but there are exceptions. For example, from 2000 to 2004, Australian delegates were chosen by a modeling agency. Although such "castings" are generally discouraged by the Miss Universe Organization, Miss Australia Jennifer Hawkins was chosen to be Miss Universe in 2004. When Australia resumed its national pageant, Michelle Guy became Miss Universe Australia 2005.

Some of the most successful national pageants in the last decade have been Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, France, Philippines which command consistently high interest and television ratings in their respective countries.^[20] Recent arrivals in the pageant include Slovenia (2001), China and Albania (2002), Vietnam, Georgia and Ethiopia (2004), Latvia (2005), Kazakhstan (2006), Tanzania (2007), Kosovo (2008), Gabon and Lithuania (2012) alongside Azerbaijan (2013); there have also been efforts to revive strong national pageants in South Africa, Canada, Spain, Japan and Latin America (especially Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil). Prior powerhouses are Finland, Germany and Sweden. England is the most successful nonwinning country with nine top-five positions. The current powerhouses that often make the semi-finals are: USA, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Brazil, Ukraine, France, and Australia.

The organization makes continual efforts to expand the pageant, but the participation of some countries such as Algeria has proven difficult due to cultural barriers to the swimsuit competition, while others such as Armenia, Mozambique, and Nepal have balked at sending representatives due to the cost. As of 2014, only four countries have been present at every Miss Universe since its inception in 1952: Canada, France, Germany (East and West up to 1990), and the USA.^{[citation needed]} 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 had previously prohibited transsexual applicants and age fabrication, but beginning in 2012, transgender women were allowed to compete, as long as they win their national pageants.^[21]

Main pageant[edit]

The main Miss Universe Pageant is held over a two-week period in December. In the 1970s through the 1990s, the pageant was a month long. This allowed 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 organizers, the Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant: women aspiring to become Miss Universe must be intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured^{[need quotation to verify]}. Often a candidate has lost because she did not have a good answer during the question responses rounds; although this section of competition has held less importance during recent pageants than it did in the twentieth century. Delegates also participate 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 (thus often, but not necessarily always, the contestant with the most number one votes) becoming the winner. If there is a tie, the higher semifinal scores become decisive.

The winner is assigned a one-year contract with the Miss Universe Organization, going 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 Place apartment in New York City during her reign.^[22] If the winner, for any reason, cannot fulfill her duties as Miss Universe, the 1st runner-up takes over.

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. The Miss Congeniality award 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).

Final judgment[edit]

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 semifinalists. This number has fluctuated over the years. The first Miss Universe pageant had ten semifinalists. For the next two years, the number of semifinalists 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 10 in 1984. This lasted until 2003, when the number of 15 was reinstated. In 2006, there were 20 semifinalists, the highest number ever. In 2007, the organization announced the Top 15 system would be back, which was also used in 2008 until 2010. In 2011, the system went through another change. Since then, are 16 semifinalists, 15 chosen by judges and one chosen by most popular by Internet votes.

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

Crown[edit]

Misses Universe Paulina Vega and Pia Wurtzbach^[23] in 2014 and 2015 was decorated by a diamond crown of Czech production.^[24] The diamond crown, estimated to be worth 300 thousand USD was produced in the workshop of Czech company, DIC - Diamonds International Corporation . The whole production process of the diamond crown, from the first sketches to the production itself took approximately four months. The total value of the crown has climbed up to 300 thousand US dollars. The shape of the crown is reminiscent of Manhattan skyline. Its production required the work of 10 people and the crown was made of 311 pcs of diamonds, 5 pieces of blue topaz, 198 pieces of blue sapphire, 33 pieces of crystal and 220 grams of gold. Total weight of the crown is 411 g.

From 2009–2013, Diamond Nexus Labs made the Miss Universe crown. The crown is set with 1,371 gemstones, weighing a total of 416.09 carats (83.218 g). It contains 544.31 grams of 14k and 18k white gold as well as platinum.^{[citation needed]} The crown features synthetic rubies to represent Miss Universe's HIV/AIDS education and awareness platform. Diamond Nexus Labs is the first ever eco-friendly Official Jeweler of Miss Universe and was selected as part of NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" initiative.^[25]^[26]

The winner of the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant, which was broadcast from the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Vietnam was crowned with the masterpiece which was designed by Rosalina Lydster of Jewelry by Rosalina and Ms. Dang Thi Kim Lien of CAO Fine Jewelry. The crown, valued at $120,000, is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is composed of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance. The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece of the crown was designed to represent an important attribute of the Miss Universe Pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity.

The Miss Universe crown used from 2002–2007 was designed by Mikimoto, the official jewelry sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization, and depicted the phoenix rising, signifying status, power and beauty. The crown has 500 diamonds of almost 30 carats (6.0 g), 120 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18 mm diameter and is valued at $250,000.^{[citation needed]} The Crown was designed for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss Universe 2002.^[27]

Recent titleholders[edit]

Year	Country/Territory	Miss Universe	National Title	Location	Number of Entrants
2015	Philippines	Pia Wurtzbach	Binibining Pilipinas	Las Vegas, USA	80
2014	Colombia	Paulina Vega	Miss Colombia	Doral, USA	88^{[citation needed]}
2013	Venezuela	Gabriela Isler	Miss Venezuela	Moscow, Russia	86
2012	USA	Olivia Culpo	Miss USA	Las Vegas, USA	89