It is always considered as an honour for the representative of the host country to be able to not only perform on-stage but also win the title in their respective beauty pageants for their country. The divas who have represent the host country have to be a little more assured about their performance as they have the countrymen to impress along with the judges of the pageant.
In 2012, three women who represented their respective countries were able to not only perform their best on-stage and win the title but also mark this year in the history of beauty pageant as they represented the host country. These women’s resilience and determination to win the title could be seen in the way they performed, thus, was able to impress the judges and the audience at the end of the event finale. Let’s look at the beautiful divas who managed to win the title for their country while hosting the competition.
Olivia Culpo represented the USA at the Miss Universe 2012 on 19th December 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada and was the eight representatives from the United States to win the title. She’s gone on to work extensively in the modelling, fashion, and beauty space, and loves to share everything from makeup tips to cooking recipes with her followers. Her love for cooking was proved to be so deep that in 2017, she and her family opened a restaurant called Back 40 that serves American comfort food. The diva mentioned, "I actually think that there are no mistakes in fashion. Fashion for me is self-expression and I will never say that what I was feeling or wearing at a particular time was wrong."
Yu Wenxia represented China at Miss World 2012 on 18th August 2012 at Dongsheng Fitness Center Stadium in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. She was the second time China won the Miss World title. She was also named Miss Talent, where she performed her winning talent; Chinese folk song on stage during the final. When she was asked how she felt after winning the crown, she stated, “Surprised and very happy. Winning Miss World is a big responsibility; there is so much to learn. I really admire Zhang Zilin, my country's first Miss World winner, I hope to follow her example, but at the same time make my own mark. I very much look forward to working with the Miss World Organisation sharing my compassion and love and helping to improve the lives of many people throughout my year of reign.”
Ikumi Yoshimatsu represented Japan at Miss International 2012 on 21st October 2012 at Okinawa Prefectural Budokan Arena Building in Okinawa, Japan. She was the first win to win the title for Japan in the 52-year history of the pageant. The diva was intimidated by the Japanese nationalist for speaking about comfort women issues. She started ‘Stalker Zero’ campaign that initiated strict laws to protect the victims of stalking and intimidation in Japan after she experienced it first hand and went public with the same. Ikumi was featured presenter at Ted Talk where she advocated about stronger laws to protecting women in Japan. Yoshimatsu was dethroned shortly before the end of her reign, but she was not replaced.