Miss Universe 2003

Miss Universe 2003 was the 52nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City, Panama on 3 June 2003.

The winner, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was crowned by Justine Pasek of Panama as Miss Universe 2003. It was the country's first victory in the pageant's history.

Contestants from seventy-one countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes. Musical quartet Bond and Puerto Rican singer-composer Chayanne performed in this year's pageant. This was also the first edition of Miss Universe to be aired on NBC.

Location and date
At the end of the Miss Universe 2002 pageant, hosts Phil Simms and Daisy Fuentes announced that the next years pageant would be held in Panama City, Panama. It is the second time that Panama hosted the pageant; the first being Miss Universe 1986.

Due to the ongoing SARS outbreak at the time, Juan Carlos Navarro, the mayor of Panama City, required the candidates to show medical certification that they were virus free.

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

Replacements
The winner of Miss Czech Republic 2002, Kateřina Průšová was replaced by Kateřina Smržová due to her poor English skills. Miss Egypt 2003, Horreya Farghally gave up her title following rumors of her secret marriage by the press. Farghally was replaced by Nour El-Semary. The winner of Eesti Miss Estonia 2003, Maili Nomm was replaced by Katrin Susi as she was underage. The winner of Miss Poland 2002, Marta Matyjasik decided not to participate at the pageant for academic reasons. Matyjasik was replaced by Iwona Makuch.

Miss Russia 2002, Svetlana Koroleva won Miss Europe 2002 in Lebanon, making her ineligible to participate in the competition. The Miss Russia organization then held a pageant called Miss Russia Universe 2003 which was won by Julia Kova. Kova was also unable to compete due to her being underage. The Miss Russia organization then chose Maria Smirnova, a 22-year-old model from Nizhny Novgorod, as their candidate, but she was rejected her for her nude pictures in Playboy Russia. Finally the Miss Universe organization announced that it would accept Oksana Bondarenko, runner-up of Miss Russia 2002.

Debuts and withdrawals
The 2003 edition saw the debut of Serbia and Montenegro, and the returns of Argentina, Barbados, Belize, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei. Barbados last competed in Miss Universe 1999, Belize in Miss Universe 2000, while the others last competed in Miss Universe 2001. The British Virgin Islands, Chile, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, the Northern Mariana Islands, Portugal, the United States Virgin Islands, and Uruguay withdrew. Bethsaida Smith of the British Virgin Islands and Kimberly Castro of the Northern Mariana Islands withdrew due to lack of sponsorship. Chile, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, Portugal, the United States Virgin Islands, and Uruguay withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Miss Iceland 2002, Manuela Ósk Harðardóttir withdrew, when dehydration caused by the weather prevented her from competing in the preliminary competition. Donna Tuara of the Cook Islands and Joyce Ramarofahatra of Madagascar did not compete due to lack of sponsorship. Tiziana Mifsud of Malta did not compete after the Miss Malta pageant lost its Miss Universe franchise. Mounia Achlaf of Algeria and Melanie Putria Dewita Sari of Indonesia withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

Participation of Venezuela at Miss Universe
One 9 May 2003, the Miss Venezuela Organization announced that Mariángel Ruiz, Miss Venezuela 2002, would not be competing for the first time since Miss Universe 1959. This was due to the strict foreign exchange controls imposed by then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to prevent capital flight. According to Osmel Sousa, president of the Miss Venezuela Organization, USD $80,000 was needed for the franchise fee to send Ruiz to the pageant. Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros, was able to fund Ruiz to Panama. This is after Mireya Moscoso, then-President of Panama, urged Cisneros to ensure that a Venezuelan candidate will compete at Miss Universe.

Format
The number of semi-finalists at this contest was increased from ten to fifteen. Previously there were fifteen semi-finalists at Miss Universe 1971. The preliminary competition began with fifteen contestants, and consisted of swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. After the evening gown competition these were reduced to ten. Then the swimsuit competition reduced them to five. The five finalists then competed in the question and answer round and the final look.

Final telecast

 * Maria Celeste Arraras – Puerto Rican author and broadcaster journalist at Telemundo
 * Deborah Carthy-Deu – Miss Universe 1985 from Puerto Rico
 * Roberto Cavalli – Italian fashion designer
 * Richard Johnson – American field artist and visual journalist at The Washington Post
 * Amelia Marshall – American actress
 * Audrey Quock – American model and actress
 * Peter Reckell – American actor
 * Mathew St. Patrick – American actor
 * Fernanda Tavares – Brazilian supermodel

Contestants
Seventy-one contestants competed for the title.