User:Mauriziok/Miss Universe 2019

Miss Universe 2019, the 68th Miss Universe pageant, was held on December 8, 2019 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Catriona Gray of the Philippines crowned her successor Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa at the end of the event. This is South Africa's third win after their recent victory in 2017. This edition also saw the crowning of the first black woman winner since Leila Lopes was crowned in 2011.

Contestants from 90 countries and territories participated in this year's competition. The pageant was hosted by Steve Harvey in his fifth consecutive year, with Olivia Culpo and Vanessa Lachey as backstage correspondents, and with a performance by Ally Brooke. The new Mouawad Power of Unity crown made its debut. Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar became the first openly lesbian contestant to compete for the Miss Universe title.

Location
In December 2018, Filipino politician and businessman Chavit Singson, of the LCS Group of Companies which financed Miss Universe 2016,  stated that the 2019 edition of the pageant would be held in Seoul, South Korea, which previously hosted Miss Universe 1980. He added that he would assist in preparations for holding the competition in South Korea, although the details were not finalized; the Miss Universe Organization had never confirmed this. Later, in April 2019, it was reported that both the Philippines and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had become interested in hosting the competition as well. Interest in the Philippines grew following the win of Filipino Catriona Gray in Miss Universe 2018, looking to have her crown her successor in her home country, much like Pia Wurtzbach did at Miss Universe 2016. Meanwhile, Rio de Janeiro will be declared the World Capital of Architecture by UNESCO for 2020, and is reportedly looking to host more international events in the city in anticipation of this title. In August 2019, it emerged that Israel was also interested in hosting the competition. With a plan created by producers Danny Benaim and Assaf Blecher, talks regarding hosting the competition in Israel emerged after Tel Aviv successfully hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. They stated that Israel was also interested in hosting the competition in 2020. Hosting the competition in Israel would cause difficulties regarding the numerous participants from countries that do not recognize Israel; these entrants would require special permission to enter the country.

In May 2019, Richelle Singson-Michael, the daughter of Chavit Singson, stated that the Philippines was one of several countries bidding to host the 2019 competition, and that her family's business LCS Group was committed to hosting either in the Philippines or in South Korea.

On October 31, 2019, the Miss Universe Organization confirmed that the competition would be held on December 8, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States at Tyler Perry Studios.

Selection of participants
Delegates from 90 countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant; six of these delegates were appointed to their national titles and another was selected after another national pageant was held to replace the original dethroned winner. Angeline Flor Pua, who had been crowned Miss Belgium 2018, was appointed to represent Belgium after Elena Castro Suarez, the winner of Miss Belgium 2019, chose to compete at Miss World 2019. Maëva Coucke, who had been crowned Miss France 2018, was appointed to the title by the Miss France organization after Vaimalama Chaves, the winner of Miss France 2019, opted not to compete in an international pageant. Vartika Singh of India was appointed to the title by the Miss Diva organization. Singh had previously represented India at Miss Grand International 2015. Olga Buława was appointed to represent Poland by the Miss Polski organization after the Miss Polonia organization relinquished the franchise. Buława had been crowned Miss Polski 2018. Fiona Tenuta of Uruguay was appointed by Osmel Sousa, the national director of Miss Universe Uruguay, through a casting process, after they could not find enough sponsors to hold an actual competition. Hoàng Thùy of Vietnam was appointed to the title following an internal selection by Dương Trương Thiên Lý, the country's national director. Thùy had placed as the first runner-up at the Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 pageant. Anyella Grados Meza was originally supposed to represent Peru at Miss Universe, however, Grados was dethroned following a scandal where videos of her surfaced showing being severely drunk and vomiting in public. Because of that another national pageant was held to select the new representative to Miss Universe where Kelin Rivera emerged victorious. The remainder of the delegates were selected after winning their respective national pageants, or receiving a designated supplementary title at a national pageant.

The 2019 edition saw the debuts of Bangladesh and Equatorial Guinea, and the returns of Lithuania, Romania, Sierra Leone and Tanzania; Lithuania has not competed since 2014, Sierra Leone since 2016, and the others since 2017. Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Zambia have withdrawn from the competition. Prior to the competition, the Miss Universe Ghana organization was temporarily suspended; they will resume operations in 2020. Greece withdrew after their selected delegate Erika Kolani was unable to compete for undisclosed reasons. Kyrgyzstan withdrew from the competition after their selected delegate Elmara Buranbaeva, chose not to compete in any international pageant. Lebanon withdrew after the Miss Lebanon 2019 competition was continuously postponed and ultimately canceled due to the 2019–20 Lebanese protests. Alina Sanko, who was crowned Miss Russia 2019, was originally going to be sent to both Miss Universe and Miss World 2019, but was unable to do so due to overlapping dates. The Miss Russia organization was unable to finalize replacement plans for Miss Universe due to the length of time it took for the Miss Universe Organization to publish details about its date and venue, which would have made it difficult for the Russian entrant to receive an American visa. Zambia withdrew from the competition after Didia Mukwala, who was crowned Miss Universe Zambia 2019, and the Miss Universe Zambia organization failed to book Mukwala's trip to Atlanta due to the Miss Universe Zambia organization's financial situation. While Guatemala, Hungary, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar became the first openly lesbian woman to compete in Miss Universe after coming out days before finals night. Patricia Yurena Rodríguez of Spain competed in Miss Universe 2013, but did not come out until after the competition.

Format
As was introduced in the 2018 competition, twenty semifinalists were chosen from the initial pool of 90 delegates through a closed-door interview and a preliminary competition, which featured contestants competing in swimsuit and evening gown. After a two-year absence, Internet voting returned, with the public being able to vote a candidate into the top twenty through online voting. The continental format returned for the third year in a row, with five semifinalists coming from the Americas, five from Europe, five from Africa/Asia-Pacific, and five wildcards coming from any of the previous groups. The twenty semifinalists competed in the opening statement round, which was first introduced in the 2018 competition, featuring each semifinalist reciting a short introduction to themselves and their platforms. After, ten entrants advanced to compete in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. Five finalists were chosen from these ten, who then competed in the first Q&A round, where each entrant was asked a different question about a politicized topic. The final three were chosen from this round, who then competed in the final word, each answering the same question about women's empowerment. The three finalists went on to give their closing statements, the first time this round was used in the competition, to the selection committee and audience, before the winner was announced.

Selection committee

 * Gaby Espino – Venezuelan actress
 * Sazan Hendrix – American businesswoman and social media personality
 * Riyo Mori – Miss Universe 2007 from Japan
 * Cara Mund – Miss America 2018 from North Dakota
 * Bozoma Saint John – American businesswoman and marketing executive
 * Crystle Stewart – Miss USA 2008 from Texas
 * Paulina Vega – Miss Universe 2014 from Colombia
 * Olivia Jordan – Miss USA 2015 from Oklahoma (only as preliminary judge)

Contestants
90 contestants competed for the title of Miss Universe 2019:

Retreats

 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Erika Kolani did not compete for unknown reasons.
 * 🇿🇲 Zambia: Didia Mukwala did not compete due to lack of resources from her national organization.

Substitutions

 * 🇧🇪 Belgium: Elena Castro Suárez participated at Miss World 2019 so the national organization named Angeline Flor Pua Miss Universe Belgium 2019 queen title in 2018 and fourth-finalist in Miss World 2018.
 * 🇫🇷 France: Vaimalama Chaves she resigned her right to participate in international competitions. She referred to Miss Universe as a superficial and "plastic" pageant. Maëva Coucke, Miss France 2018 and semifinalist at Miss World 2018, will participate instead.
 * 🇵🇪 Peru: Anyella Grado She was dismissed as a national queen and as a representative of her country to the respective contest after filtering videos on social media where she is seen in public presenting a severe degree of drunkenness, thereby breaking the contract she had with the Miss Peru Organization as national queen . Another contest called "Reina de Reinas" was held to find a delegate, where Kelin Rivera was the winner.

Designations

 * 🇮🇳 India: Vartika Singh was designated as Miss Diva 2019 after the national pageant was not held.
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: Olga Buława she was appointed to represent the country in Miss Universe after the organization "Miss Polski" took over the franchise.
 * 🇺🇾 Uruguay: Fiona Tenuta was appointed by Osmel Sousa as the new owner of the Uruguay franchise for "Miss Universe."
 * Vietnam: Hoàng Thị Thùy was appointed as Miss Universe Vietnam 2019 after obtaining the position of first runner-up in Miss Universe Vietnam 2017.

Debuts

 * 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
 * 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea

Returns

 * Last competed in 2014
 * 🇱🇹 Lithuania
 * Last competed in 2016
 * 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
 * Last competed in 2017
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇹🇿 Tanzania