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. 

Cebu City's Bet is Miss Universe Philippines 2021

A proud member of the LGBTQ community unleashed her full arsenal when it mattered the most at the grand coronation night of Miss Universe Philippines 2021 held in the island paradise of Bohol. 

Miss Cebu City is MUPH2021 

Along the way, Cebu City's bet Beatrice Luigi Gomez also clinched both the Best in Swimsuit and Best in Evening Gown awards as well as the Miss Creamsilk & Miss Immuno corporate awards. But it was her two rounds of interviews that secured her a commanding lead and sealed her convincing victory.

Bea, as she is affectionately called by friends and family is the first openly gay Filipina to represent the country at the Miss Universe Pageant which will have its 70th edition in Israel this December. 

Named Miss Universe Philippines Tourism 2021 was Taguig's Katrina Dimaranan. Miss Universe Philippines Charity 2021 was Cavite's Victoria Velasquez Vincent.

1st RU was Pangasinan's Maureen Christa Wroblewitz . 2nd RU was Cebu Province's Steffi Rose Aberasturi

Opening Number 

Special Award Winners:

Four (4) Awards:

Miss Cebu City Beatrice Luigi Gomez: 

-Miss Luxxe Immunplus – cash and products

-Miss Cream Silk – Cebu City

-Best in Swimsuit

-Best in Evening Gown

Three (3) Awards:

Miss Masbate Kisses Delavin: 

-Ms. RedFox – highest online votes – $2000 cash and $2000 for her charity    

-Miss Photogenic: P100,000 cash and freebies

-Miss Lazada Philippines– P50,000 credits

Two (2) Awards:

Miss Taguig Katrina Dimaranan: 

-Face of Belo Sun Expert – 100,000 cash and Belo products

-Miss Savepoint Plus – P100,000 credits

Two (2) Awards:

Miss Laguna Leren Mae Bautista: 

-Miss Jojo Bragais – P50,000 and shoes supply for a year 

-Miss Organic Barley – P300,000 cash and Organic Barley supply for 1 year 

Two (2) Awards:

Miss Pangasinan Maureen Wroblewitz: 

-Ms. Hennan Resort – wins overnight stay 

-Miss AirAsia – roundtrip tickets to any destination

One (1) Award Each:

Miss Pasig Princess Khrista Singh:

-Miss Coppermask– P300,000 cash with 1 year supply of Coppermasks

Miss Albay Janela Joy Cuaton:

-Miss K-pads - 1 year supply of K-pads and P100,000 cash

Miss Mandaluyong Maria Corazon Abalos

Best in National Costume

Miss Cebu Province Steffi Rose Aberasturi:

Miss Luxxe White Reveal – P100,000 cash and products

After the opening number led by reigning MUPH 2020 Rabiya Mateo, the top 16 announcement followed.

THE TOP 16:

Making the top 16 were Aklan, Misamis Oriental, Manila, Angeles City, Romblon, San Juan. Masbate, Albay, Laguna, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pangasinan, Cavite, Cebu City, Taguig and Cebu Province.

The top 16 competed in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds before the field was narrowed down to the top ten.

Swimsuits with Sam Concepcion

Evening Gown with Michael Pangilinan

THE TOP TEN:

Advancing to the Top Ten were Masbate, Albay, Laguna, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pangasinan, Cavite, Cebu City, Taguig and Cebu Province.

Each of the 10 ladies had a casual chat with pageant host KC Montero before the final five was revealed.

The final five underwent one final Q&A before the judges made their final decision.

The almost three- month search started with 100 candidates then reduced to 75, narrowed down to 50 before being whittled to the top 30 after all the girls underwent a series of challenges.

The pageant ended up with 28 official candidates after two ladies got sick, one from dengue fever and the other from covid19. 

Sidebits & Tidbits from Miss Universe Philippines 2021

 -Calling Bea Luigi as the 10th and last semifinalist was anticlimactic as she was already named Best in Swimsuit & Best in Evening Gown. I wonder how the rest of the top 16 who didn't advance to the next round felt with only spot left and with Bea still not called. 

Bea Luigi Gomez is MUPH 2021

-It was jitters and sheer nerves that got in the way for Steffi Rose during the penultimate round thus failing to elaborate on being socially aware. She instead talked about social media. I'm sure she had a ready answer for the question but being called first has always been the kiss of death for most pageant girls.

-I got 15 of the 16 semifinalists and four out of five. One can never get a 100%  accuracy in beauty pageants where judging is subjective, where a lot of factors come into play and of course, what goes behind the scenes. But predictions and forecasts are what makes these pageants fun and exciting. 

-It was a heartbreaking moment for everyone when pageant darling Leren Mae Bautista failed to crack the top five. 

-The alta girls Ingrid Santamaria of Paranaque & Corinne Abalos of Mandaluyong advanced to the top ten over Chella Grace Falconer of Misamis Oriental and Izabella Jasmine Umali of Manila. 

-TV personality Kisses Delavin of Masbate earned pageant fans' respect and admiration with how she transformed herself and how she performed during the finale night. On the basis of the casual interview alone, she should have secured the fifth and final spot but we would never know what ultimately goes in the final reckoning. 

-Ultimately, it was the Q&A that sealed the fate of the winners and those who didn't make it. 

-Bea is the first openly gay Miss Philippines to compete in Miss Universe. She is currently in a seven year relationship with a female club deejay. She definitely has opened doors for the LGBTQA community. 

-For the second year in a row, the MUPH crown landed on the dainty head of a girl from the Visayas. 

Miss Tourism then & now

-Almost but not quite. She did everything right but fate and destiny played a cruel joke on Katrina Dimaranan. From being Bb. Pilipinas Tourism 2012 to Miss Universe Philippines Tourism 2021. Talk about going full circle.

-The twin victories of Cebu's bets is another proof of the much- vaunted powerhouse status of Cebu in Philippine pageantry.

-Bea Luigi Gomez is the third Cebuana to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant. The first was Pilar Pilapil in 1967 and followed by Gazini Ganados in 2019.

-Congratulations to the MUPH for mounting a very successful pageant.