Miss Universe 2017 is known for changing its format from time and again. This time it seems they have changed the selection criteria of Top 16 finalists which would be on the basis of continents.

Rumour has it; the final Top 16 cut will be according to the continents. Have a look at the selection criteria here –

Four contestants from the Americas including North America, South America, and the Caribbean

Four contestants from Europe

Four contestants from Africa, Asia, and Oceania

Three wild card contestants

One fan favourite

Now the question arises, Is these criteria appropriate or not? Well, first of all, the total number of girls representing these continents is uneven. While from Americas 32 candidates are participating, from Europe, there are only 26 contestants and from Africa, Asia, and Oceania 34 girls are coming in.

It seems a little unfair that there is no evenness in the number of contestants. There are many candidates who deserve to enter the final Top 16 cut but might not make it just because they are not in the top four contestants of their continent. Also, it doesn’t make sense to club Africa, Asia, and Oceania continents in one group. There is a huge gap of 8 candidates in this group and the Europe.

Nonetheless, it seems like Miss Universe organization reason to introduce this new format is to promote diversity in the final Top 16 cut, which is a positive thing. Also, the organization would have taken this decision considering all things important and thinking about the larger perspective.

Though this news is yet to be confirmed officially, we will definitely keep you posted about the changes if they happen for sure.