67th edition of the Miss Universe competition
Beauty pageant
Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on 17 December 2018. 
At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Tebow 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, 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 2018. On 6 May 2018, 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 2018, 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, and had no reason to do so again so soon.
On 31 July 2018, it was announced by Miss Universe Organization President, Paula Shugart, in a live press conference at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, that the 2018 pageant would be in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 December 2018. The city had hosted the Miss Universe pageant twice, in 1992 and 2005. Current 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.
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.
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 &amp; 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:
Contestants.
Ninety-four contestants competed for the title.
References.
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