User:Mauriziok/Miss Universe 2020

Miss Universe 2020, the 69th Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 16, 2021 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States. Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned her successor Andrea Meza of Mexico at the end of the event.

Contestants from 74 countries and territories competed. The competition was hosted by Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo; Lopez last served as host during Miss Universe 2007, while Culpo was crowned Miss Universe 2012. Paulina Vega and Demi-Leigh Tebow will serve as expert analysts, and Cheslie Kryst served as a backstage correspondent; they had previously been crowned as Miss Universe 2014, Miss Universe 2017, and Miss USA 2019, respectively. Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi performed.

Location and date
On March 3, 2021, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the competition would be held on May 16, 2021, at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was postponed from late 2020 to May 2021. This was the third time in the history of the competition in which the event was held after the calendar year has ended; this previously occurred during Miss Universe 2014 and Miss Universe 2016, when both were held in January of the following year. The 2020 edition being held in May of the following year makes it the latest edition in the competition's history.

Hosts and performer
On April 20, 2021, it was confirmed that Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo would serve as hosts of the live final. Culpo was crowned Miss Universe 2012, while Lopez last served as host during Miss Universe 2007. This marks the first time since Miss Universe 2015 that Steve Harvey will not host the competition. Paulina Vega and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters served as expert analysts, and Cheslie Kryst served as a backstage correspondent; they had previously been crowned as Miss Universe 2014, Miss Universe 2017, and Miss USA 2019, respectively.

On May 7, American rapper and singer Pitbull was announced as the competition's guest performer. Seven days later, Pitbull dropped out and was replaced by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi.

Selection of participants
Contestants from 74 countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Seven contestants had been crowned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the pandemic, numerous national pageants were postponed or canceled entirely, resulting in multiple former runners-up from previous national pageants being appointed for the 2020 edition, or casting processes being held instead. Twenty-eight of these delegates were appointed to their national titles, including: Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Korea, Laos, Mauritius, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovak Republic and Ukraine

Three contestants were designated after the withdrawal of the original contestant; Céline Van Ouytsel, who had been crowned Miss Belgium 2020, was expected to represent Belgium, but opted not to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and her wish to not compete internationally at that time. She was replaced by Dhenia Covens, who was the second runner-up of Miss Belgium 2018. Amandine Petit, who had been crowned Miss France 2021, was designated to represent France, replacing Clémence Botino, who had been crowned Miss France 2020. The switch was made due to a potential date conflict between Miss Universe 2021 and Miss France 2022 in December 2021. Petit was originally set to represent France at the 2021 edition, but as she is expected to be present at Miss France 2022, she was moved instead to the 2020 edition while Botino was moved to the 2021 edition. Magdalena Kasiborska, who had been crowned Miss Polski 2019, was expected to represent Poland at the competition, but was forced to withdraw after suffering from a spinal disc herniation. She was replaced by Natalia Piguła, who was her first runner-up at Miss Polski 2019.

The 2020 edition saw the debut of Cameroon, and the returns of Ghana and Russia, which had both not competed since 2018. Bangladesh was originally set to compete with Tangia Zaman Methila, but withdrew from the competition less than a month prior due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and the imposition of additional lockdowns and travel restrictions. In addition to Bangladesh, the 2020 edition saw the withdrawals of eighteen other countries and territories, largely due to the pandemic, including Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Germany, Guam, Kenya, Lithuania, Mongolia, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, and the US Virgin Islands. Of the withdrawing countries and territories, Germany's withdrawal marks the first time it did not compete in the competition since its debut during the inaugural Miss Universe 1952.

Results


§ – Voted into the Top 21 by online fans

Format
Two days prior to the final competition on May 16, 2021, the 74 delegates each competed in the preliminary competition, featuring contestants competing in swimsuit and evening gown, preceded by a closed-door interview. The results of the preliminary competition and closed-door interview then determined the 21 semifinalists, increased from 20 the previous year. Internet voting returned for the second consecutive year, with fans being able to vote one delegate into the semifinals. Unlike the past two years, continental groupings were done away with, with the semifinalists being selected at-large. The top 21 then competed in swimsuit, eliminating the opening statement round which had been held for the past two years, and were then narrowed down to a top ten. The top ten competed in evening gown, and a final five was later chosen. The final five competed in final question and closing statement; for final question, each delegate was asked a specific question from a randomly-selected judge, while for closing statement, each delegate randomly selected a politicized topic and were asked to speak freely about their selected topic. Following the conclusion of these speaking rounds, the winner was announced.

Selection committee

 * Sheryl Adkins-Green – American marketing executive
 * Arden Cho – American actress
 * Christine Duffy – American businesswoman
 * Keltie Knight – Canadian television host
 * Brook Lee – Miss Universe 1997 from the United States
 * Deepica Mutyala – American entrepreneur
 * Tatyana Orozco – Colombian businesswoman
 * Zuleyka Rivera – Miss Universe 2006 from Puerto Rico

Contestants
74 delegates competed for the title of Miss Universe 2020: