66th edition of the international beauty pageant
Beauty pageant
Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on 26 November 2017.
At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa as Miss Universe 2017. It was South Africa's first victory in almost four decades, and the second victory of the country in the pageant's history.
Contestants from ninety-two countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of eighty-nine contestants in 2011 and 2012. The pageant was hosted by Steve Harvey in his third consecutive year, and supermodel Ashley Graham. Television personality Carson Kressley and runway coach Lu Sierra provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. American singer-songwriters Fergie and Rachel Platten performed in this year's pageant.
The competition also featured the return of the Phoenix Mikimoto crown, which was last used in 2007, after WME/IMG reportedly sued the Diamond International Company due to a breach of contract in August 2017. After failing to make payments, IMG canceled the contract with DIC.
Background.
Location and date.
Miss Universe Australia organization's Troy Barbagallo, Australian businessman, informed the Herald Sun that he submitted an offer to IMG for Australia to host the 2017 edition, with Sydney or Melbourne as viable host cities.
The Department of Tourism of the Philippines announced on 25 May 2017, that the Miss Universe Organization had proposed to hold the contest again in the Philippines. The Miss Universe 2016 pageant took place in the nation. The Miss Universe Organization was pleased with the previous pageant's hosting in the Philippines, stating it dominated the pre-events of Super Bowl LI. On 22 June 2017, the Department of Tourism decided that they will not host the pageant this year and instead consider hosting the following edition.
On 28 September 2017, the Miss Universe Organization confirmed the date and location of the contest through Instagram. The pageant will take place in The AXIS theatre of Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada on 26 November 2017. The last time that The AXIS theatre was used by the pageant was in 2015.
Selection of participants.
Contestants from ninety-two countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Fourteen 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, while three were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Liesbeth Claus, the third runner-up of Miss Belgium 2017, was appointed to represent Belgium after Romanie Schotte, Miss Belgium 2017, chose to compete at Miss World 2017 due to conflicting schedules of the two pageants. Kseniya Alexandrova, the first runner-up of Miss Russia 2017, was also appointed to represent Russia after Polina Popova, Miss Russia 2017, chose to compete at Miss World 2017. Katarzyna Włodarek, the second runner-up of Miss Polonia 2016, was appointed to represent Poland after the Miss Polonia pageant was postponed to late November following the Miss Universe pageant.
Mira Simeonova, Miss Universe Bulgaria 2017, originally was supposed to represent Bulgaria at Miss Universe. However, Simeonova did not meet the minimum age requirements of the pageant. Due to this, Nikoleta Todorova, a finalist at Miss Universe Bulgaria 2017, replaced Simeonova as Miss Universe Bulgaria 2017. Vian Sulaimani was supposed to represent Iraq at Miss Universe. However, Sulaimani was dethroned after it was discovered that she was married. Following Sulaimani's dethronement, the Miss Iraq Organization held a casting call to select the new representative of Iraq to Miss Universe. Sarah Idan emerged as the new Miss Iraq 2017. Pınar Tartan, Miss Turkey Supranational 2017, replaced Aslı Sümen as Miss Universe 2017 after Sümen replaced Itır Esen as Miss Turkey World 2017 hours after her crowning because of a tweet about the 2016 Turkish "coup d'état" attempt.
The 2017 edition saw the debuts of Cambodia, Laos, and Nepal and the returns of Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Ireland, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zambia. Iraq last competed in 1972, which makes the country's first time to compete after four decades of withdrawing from Miss Universe. Zambia last competed in 2010, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago last competed in 2014, while the others last competed in 2015. Belize, Denmark, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Switzerland withdrew. Sierra Leone withdrew from the competition after Adama Kargbo was unable to secure a visa in time for the competition in the United States. Belize, Denmark, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, and Switzerland withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Pageant.
Format.
The number of semifinalists was increased from thirteen in 2016 to sixteen. For the first time in this edition, contestants were divided into three geographical regions: The Americas, Europe, and Africa &amp; Asia-Pacific. The judges chose the top four contestants from each of the three regions, as well as four other contestants from any region to complete the sixteen semifinalists. The sixteen semifinalists participated in the swimsuit competition, with ten advancing in the competition for the evening gown competition. Five finalists advanced to compete in the question and answer portion, while three finalists advanced to compete in the final question and the final walk.
Contestants.
Ninety-two contestants competed for the title.
References.
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