India Is the 70th Miss Universe

Harnaaz Sandhu of India was named the 70th Miss Universe after she pipped Nadia Figueroa of Paraguay and Lalea Mswane into second & third places, respectively, during the pageant’s finals night held in Eliat, Israel.

Harnaaz Sandhu is Miss U 2021

All 80 contestants underwent a closed-door panel interview and competed in the preliminary swimsuit & evening gown competitions before the field was narrowed down to the top 16.

All sixteen girls competed in the swimsuit competition before the field was narrowed down to the top ten who competed in the evening gown competition before the girls were trimmed down further to the top fve.

After the Q&A, South Africa, India and Paraguay were named the final three.

Rounding out the final five were Beatrice Luigi Gomez of the Philippines and Valeria Ayos of Colombia. 

Top Five Q & A

The rest of the top ten were the girls from USA, Aruba, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico and France. 

Rounding out the top sixteen were Japan, Vietnam, Panama, Venezuela, Great Britain and Singapore. 

ABOUT THE WINNER

The road to the crown wasn't easy for the new Miss Universe. In her first attempt at the national pageant in India, she went as far as the semifinals.

She emerged winner during her second attempt. After her crowning last October, she was touted by most pageant sites & experts around the world as one of the crown favorites. She didn't disappoint.

From the moment she stepped foot in Israel and all the way to the final round, she maintained her frontrunner status.

The 21 year old is a Bachelor in Information Technology degree holder and is currently pursuing her Masteral studies in Public Administration and is currently an actress and model in her native country. 

She is the third Miss India to win the Miss Universe title after Sushmita Sen 1994 and Lara Dutta 2000.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Earlier during the preliminaries, Chantal O'Brian of The Bahamas received the equivalent if the Miss Congeniality title, the Carnival Spirit Award from Carnival Cruise Line for embodying the values of fun & friendship.

Antonia Figueroa of Chile received the Social Impact Award. It is given to the candidate who made the biggest impact for social good using the ImpactWayv social media platform.

Maristella Okpala of Nigeria received the Best National Costume award. Her costume, inspired by the traditional masquerade of the Mmanwa tribe in her country, was created by Filipino designer Kennedy Jhon Gasper.

The Philippines enjoys a 12 year consecutive placement in the semifinals, the fourth longest in the pageant's history.

Bea in her Francis Libiran gown

STREAKS & SURPRISES

The United States holds the record for the longest uninterrupted placements at 22 years (1977-1999) followed by Venezuela at 21 years (1983- 2004). Then the US again for 18 years (1958- 1976)

Brazil's 11 year streak was brought to a halt with the non- inclusion of Teresa Santos into the semifinals. 

Among the most pleasant surprises were the historic first placement for The Bahamas after 58 years of participation in the pageant and the return of Singapore to the semifinals after 34 years. 

Early faves like Spain, Belgium, Argentina and Chile didn't advance to the semifinals.

The Miss Universe pageant wasn't just a beauty competition. It was a celebration of the beauty of womanhood, empowerment and being a platform to raise the voices of women everywhere. 

Some 80 women from around the world competed for the crown with Bahrain sending its very first contestant into the global beauty competition along with the return of Morocco after more than 40 years.