After a long haul due to covid-19 pandemic across the world, the 69th edition of Miss Universe was held tonight, i.e. 16th May 2021 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States. At the end of the much-anticipated finale, Andrea Meza of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe 2020 by outgoing queen Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi.
Andrea Meza, with her array of titles, came prepared to conquer the Universe this year. Representing Mexico, the 26-year-old beauty queen was the epitome of confidence and elegance at the Miss Universe stage. She set her base strong right from the beginning of the competition with outstanding performances in the pre-pageant activities as well. Besting 73 contestants and taking over the reign from a woman of substance, Andrea sure has a long journey ahead of her.
The newly crowned Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza’s court includes-
1st Runner-up – Miss Universe Brazil 2020 Julia Gama
2nd Runner-up – Miss Universe Peru 2020 Janick Maceta
3rd Runner-up – Miss Universe India 2020 Adline Castelino
4th Runner-up – Miss Universe Dominican Republic 2020 Kimberly Jiménez
The finale night began with the introduction of seventy-four ladies on stage in their Sherri Hill dresses. The selection of Top 21 happened in the 7-7-7 format, acknowledging the host venue which is a casino hotel. The announcement of Top 21 was made in three batches; the first batch included the delegates from Colombia, Peru, Australia, France, Myanmar, Jamaica. The second batch included delegates from Dominican Republic, USA, Indonesia, Argentina, India, Curacao, Puerto Rico while the third batch included Philippines, Brazil, Nicaragua, Thailand, Costa Rica and Vietnam (who was the winner of online fan vote).
See Also – Contestants competing for Miss Universe 2020
The selected contestants then walked the stage in their swimsuits, showing their strong walks and impressing the judges to win the final stop in the Top 10. The delegates from Dominican Republic, Jamaica, India, Peru, Australia, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico and Brazil impressed the judges the most, securing their place in the Top 10 much to the disappointment of the filipino fans who could not see their favourite make a place as the finalist of the 2020 edition.
The Top 10 finalists then paraded on the stage in their evening gowns along with their other sisters, walking to the tunes of Luis Fonsi, who performed on the stage like the rockstar he is and mesmerised the audience with his voice. The Top 10 was finally cut down to Top 5 which included the winner and her court.
Before the final announcement was made, the Top 5 delegates had to go through a gruelling question and answer round where the jury marked them on the basis of their awareness, eloquence and substance. The finalists also made their final statements on the previously given topics after the question and answer round.
See also – Miss Universe 2020 Top 5 Q/A
This year also saw a lot of history being made as Zozibini Tunzi crowned her successor but not before having the longest reign in the Miss Universe history. Miss Universe Myanmar 2020 Thuzar Wint Lwin was awarded with the Best in National Costume award for her fight for democracy amidst the ongoing political unrest in her country. Ironically, she lost all her luggage as she arrived in the USA but made do with what she had and still emerged as the winner.
See also – Post Pageant analysis of Miss Universe 2020
All in all, Miss Universe 2020, within the maintained boundaries of covid-19 guidelines, was a successful edition with Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo serving as the gracious hosts and Paulina Vega and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters serving as expert analysts while Cheslie Kryst serving as a backstage correspondent.
Congratulations to the newly crowned Miss Universe!