Miss Universe

Miss Universe is one of the prestigious international beauty pageants. It is organized and managed by the Miss Universe Organization, jointly owned by NBC and Donald Trump. What started out as a local contest for endorsing the Catalina swim wear soon became a global event.

History of Miss Universe

The Miss Universe contest was flagged off in 1952 in Long Beach, California. The first “Miss Universe 1953” was Armi Kuusela of Finland. The popularity of the pageant grew with the event being covered by CBS and NBC. The latter, in fact bought the television rights in 2003.

There has been a lot of changes in the format of the show over the years. Till 1963 the winners and runner – ups were announced from the final 15 line up. Later the format accommodated 10 finalists and finally 5 finalists, from where the final winners were chosen. The final 15 line up was once again taken up in 2003, from which the top five finalists were selected. Presently, the top ten are selected after the swimsuit round from the top 15. The top five; answers the questions posed by the judges, from which the final winner is selected.

Miss Universe 2008

The winner of the title was Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela. The 57th event was held at the Crown Convention Center, Vietnam. The event was covered globally and broadcasted by NBC. The event marked the first such occasion to be held in Vietnam, post the Vietnam War. This was also the first time that the event was held in a contemporary communist state. The runner – up line up is as follows:

• Taliana Vargas, Columbia - 1st runner up
• Marianne Cruz, Dominican Republic - 2nd runner up
• Vera Krasova, Russia - 3rd runner up
• Elisa Najera, Mexico - 4th runner up

Miss Thailand, Gavintra Photijak walked away with the “Best National Costume” award. While the honor of “Miss Congeniality” was bestowed on Miss El Salvador, Rebecca Moreno.