The 69th edition of Miss Universe was held in Florida, USA at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino tonight where Andrea Meza was crowned Miss Universe 2020 by the outgoing Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa. Andrea will be taking home the fourth crown for Mexico after a decade-long wait, making her country ever so proud.
The competition followed the new Top 21 – Top 10 – Top 5 format this year. Out of over 70 delegates from across the world, the top 20 finalists were chosen by the judges, and 1 delegate was chosen from the fan votes tallied from the Miss Universe app.
Returning after more than a year due to the pandemic situation in the world, Miss Universe was one of the most awaited pageants this year. The magnificent stage was set with grand arrangements in a hall filled with excitement, eager to meet their new reigning queen. Although the competition was being held amidst a global health pandemic, the organization made sure of everyone’s safety and the sanitization, running the show quite smoothly.
The event was hosted by Access Hollywood’s Mario Lopez and actress and model Olivia Culpo accompanied by experienced former queens, Paulina Vega, Cheslie Kryst and Demi-Leigh Tebow as analysts for the event. The beautiful divas started off the night with a stunning opening performance in their Sherri Hill dresses.
The esteemed judging panel was charmed by the presence of Sheryl Adkins-Green, CEO of Mary Kay Inc., Zuleyka Riveria Miss Universe 2006, actress and activist Arden Cho, Entertainment Tonight host Kellie Knight, Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted, Tatyana Orozco, CEO of Arena Del Rio, Christine Duffy, President- Carnival Cruise Line and USA’s very own Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee.
The competition began with the announcement of the Top 21 contestants out of which 20 were adjudged on the basis of their interview and pre-pageant rounds and 1 lucky winner, Vietnam’s delegate Khanh Van Nguyen, joined them in the next round as a fan favorite.
It came as a surprise to pageant followers and experts that few of the most favorite and strong contenders like Canada’s Nova Stevens, Romania’s Bianca Tirsin, Nepal’s Anshika Sharma and South Africa’s Natasha Joubert didn’t make the cut. The contestants had been showing exemplary performances throughout the competition which is why the fans were not quite satisfied with the 21 finalists moving ahead. However, the decisions of the judges and the organization are nowhere to be questioned as the finalists included names of few of the finest delegates in the race.
It was also interesting to note the regional placements in the Top 21 as the Americans lead with a total of 12 candidates reaching the 21 finalists along with 7 delegates from Asia Pacific and just 2 delegates from Europe and again surprisingly no candidate from Africa.
The top 21 finalists then paraded in their swimsuits in front of the judges looking as stellar as ever and then, from the Top 21, the judges chose 10 finalists to compete in the evening gown round. Two exceptional ladies were awarded with special awards as the Top 10 finalists were announced.
The Best in national costume award was bagged by Myanmar’s Thuzar Wint Lwin who was loud and clear in support to her country’s ongoing situations. Even after losing her baggage at the airport, Thuzar showed great enthusiasm and efforts into putting together the winning national costume in a land away from home as a true Miss Universe spirit.
The second award was presented to Bolivia’s Lenka Nemer who won the Miss Universe 2020 Impact Award for her miraculous work on an initiative for food security and sovereignty with Urban Orchards building urban farms in the gardens of her neighborhood to create sustainable and organic food produce and fight against hunger.
Moving ahead, the competition moved forward with the announcement of the Top 10 finalists who then walked the ramp in their mesmerizing evening gowns, on the basis of which the judges scored the result to reach the Top 5 finalists for the evening.
The stage next saw a studded performance of the Top 5 queens, Mexico’s Andrea Meza, India’s Adline Castelino, Brazil’s Julia Gama, Dominican Republic’s Kimberly Jiminez and Peru’s Janick Maceta joining the star-performer and the award-winning singer Luis Fonsi who enhanced the beauty of the stage with his magical voice creating magic as the queens walked the stage along his beats looking like divas of the universe.
The most crucial and anticipated question round was up next as the queens came up on the center-stage to choose a number assigned to specific judges who asked them different questions as they all answered to them with sheer confidence and intellect. The question round was followed up by another round of oration by the finalists as they each spoke on specific topics chosen by them randomly to present their views and test their potentials.
The night next saw queen Zozibini Tunzi as she took her last steps as Miss Universe 2019 after reigning for more than a year. A heavy-hearted and very emotional Zozibini was welcomed on stage by all the contestants and they gathered together for the final moments and crowning of the new queen of the Universe.
At the end of the night, Zozibini Tunzi passed on the crown of Miss Universe 2020 to Andrea Meza of Mexico. Her court includes first runner-up Julia Gama of Brazil, second runner-up Janick Maceta of Peru, third runner-up Adline Castelino of India and Dominican Republic’s Kimberly Jiminez as the fourth runner-up.
All in all, this year’s edition was a complete package of excitement, thrill, surprises, emotions and joy, successfully produced and hosted by the Miss Universe organization. We wish our heartiest congratulations to the newly crowned queen and all the other contestants for a blockbuster edition.