THE PRETHOUGHTS
THE RESULTS (May 17, 2021)
It's a third Miss Universe crown for the land of the Mariachi, Mexico! Andrea Meza has captured the crown and she succeeds the wins of Lupita Jones in 1991 (who directed Mexico's national pageant for many years and recently announced a run for governor of Baja California) and Ximena Navarrete in 2010 who also happened to place 3rd on my predictions list that year just like Andrea did this year! Andrea was previously the 1st runner up at Miss World 2017 but would go on to win the Miss Universe title in the same manner as another Miss World finalist, Catriona Gray of the Philippines who won Miss Universe 2018 after finishing in the top 5 of Miss World 2016. Andrea is one of four women to place in the top 2 at both Miss World and Miss Universe. The other three were: Wales' Rosemarie Frankland in 1961, Wales' Helen Morgan in 1974 and Bermuda's Gina Swainson in 1979 who all finished as 1st runner up at Miss Universe prior to winning Miss World but Andrea went the opposite direction! This is also the first Latina win since 2014 won Colombia's Paulina Vega captured the crown also in Florida. Since the 2020 Miss Universe pageant was another postponed year similarly to 2014 and 2016 which favored countries that hadn't won since the 1950s (i.e. Colombia won for 2014 after last winning in 1958 and France won for 2016 after last winning in 1953 that some suspected that since Peru hadn't won since 1957 that it was their turn and it almost happened with Peru finishing as 2nd runner up this year! This was a very competitive year with somewhat interesting results...
This year, there was a top 21 with the 21st spot going to the winner of online vote which was the delegate from Vietnam (Oddly enough, I thought the online vote would go to either Philippines, Thailand or Indonesia and all those countries placed but Vietnam has also won online votes so I should have added them to the list). Some special awards were also handed out which included Best National Costume which went to the delegate from Myanmar – Thuzar Wint Lwin who became quite the story this year as her luggage was supposedly lost upon arrival in the USA or she might have been sabotaged but she managed to get an entirely new wardrobe in the USA and held up a sign saying 'Pray for Myanmar' and it was a heartwrenching moment and she wanted to draw attention to innocent people being killed in her country and it was powerful. There was an Impact Award given to Bolivia's Lenka Nemer and the Carnival Spirit Award given to Dominican Republic's Kimberly Jiménez. They did away with the regional divisions this year and interestingly enough, Europe only had two delegates place (France and Great Britain) both of whom were eliminated in the first round. Last year, there were 20 quarterfinalists and they were selected by region (the Americas, Europe and Africa/Asia Pacific) with 5 wildcard spots. How did I do with my predictions? Well, I was very happy that I picked 15 of the top 21 plus 4 alternates (USA, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam) and 1 honorable mention (Australia). Only 1 of the semifinalists missed my list and that was Great Britain who was in my list originally but fell to a next tier position after preliminaries but her interview saved her. The six ladies in my list that didn't place were some shocking omissions and they were: my winner, Canada and my 1st runner-up, Nepal as well as Venezuela, South Africa, Romania and Bahamas.
The coronation night of Miss Universe 2020 will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hollywood, Florida, USA on May 16, 2021. Most people recognize the guitar-shaped structure and may remember this is also the hotel in which Anna Nicole Smith passed away in 2007. This is the 69th edition of the international beauty pageant and 74 candidates from all over the world are currently listed to compete (we were at 76 delegates but Bangladesh and Egypt opted not to compete for this edition) but with these very uncertain times, more dropouts are to be expected but we will likely beat the low number of only 66 delegates that competed for Miss Universe 1988 in Taiwan but the 1953 Miss Universe pageant actually had the fewest participants with only 26 contestants. This year’s only debuting country is Cameroon.
More people are interacting virtually and working from home and special events like concerts and sporting events have been dramatically reduced. Zozibini’s long reign was unfortunately limited due to the travel restrictions so much of her reign consisted of her conducting webcam interviews with numerous titleholders past and present but there were some fascinating interviews. Major international events like the Olympics and, of course, the Miss Universe pageant have had to be postponed for safety reasons. Although, as most of us know, this is not the first time that the Miss Universe pageant has been postponed. This is actually the third time that the Miss Universe pageant was held in the following year. The 2014 Miss Universe pageant won by Colombia’s Paulina Vega was actually held in January 2015 and the 2016 Miss Universe pageant won by France’s Iris Mittenaere was held in January 2017. This naturally begs the question, should they have kept the title post-dated? Hindsight is 20/20 (2020). The first Miss Universe titleholders in the 1950s all had postdated titles at the time. For example, the first official Miss Universe, Finland’s Armi Kuusela won her crown in 1952 but at the time she was named Miss Universe 1953 but from the 1960s onwards (excluding 2014, 2016 and now 2020), the Miss Universe titleholders were named Miss Universe for the year in which they won. The post-dated title practice was implemented by the Miss America pageant which has seen their 2021 pageant postponed from 2020 to 2021. Miss America titleholders for 2006 to 2013 also saw a similar scenario as they were all crowned in the years that they won their titles unlike the other titleholders that won their titles in the previous year. i.e. New York’s Nina Davuluri won Miss America 2014 in September 2013. Now, the 2020 Miss Universe pageant has become the third leap year being much further delayed to May 2021 which gives Zozibini Tunzi the distinction of being the longest reigning Miss Universe from December 8, 2019 to May 16, 2021 which is 525 days which defeats the previous longest reigning titleholder who was also another African queen, Angola’s Leila Lopes who reigned as Miss Universe 2011 for 465 days from September 12, 2011 to December 19, 2012. The next three longest reigning Miss Universe titleholders were: Venezuela’s Gabriela Isler who reigned 442 days from November 9, 2013 to January 25, 2015; Canada’s Natalie Glebova who reigned 419 days from May 31, 2005 to July 23, 2006; and Philippines’ Pia Wurtzbach who reigned 407 days from December 20, 2015 to January 30, 2017. Not counting the dethroned Miss Universe 2002, Russia’s Oxana Fedorova and her successor Panama’s Justine Pasek, the shortest full-term Miss Universe was France’s Iris Mittenaere who reigned just under 10 months from January 30, 2017 to November 26, 2017; followed by Venezuela’s Barbara Palacios Teyde who reigned for just over 10 months from July 21, 1986 to May 27, 1987. However, the winner of Miss Universe 2020 will likely only have an approximate 7 month reign as it is anticipated that the actual 2021 Miss Universe pageant is planned to be held later this year in December 2021 in Costa Rica. Some believe that since postponed/leap years have favored countries that hadn’t won for long time (i.e. Colombia won Miss Universe 2014 in 2015 after having not won the crown since 1958 and France won Miss Universe 2016 in 2017 after having not won the crown since 1953) so a lot of people are eyeing Peru for a win in this postponed year due to them not winning the crown since 1957 or perhaps Argentina since they haven’t won since 1962??
With another sign of the times, the Miss Universe pageant will not be aired on one of the big four American networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX). CBS aired the Miss Universe pageant from the early years to 2002 then NBC aired the Miss Universe pageant from 2003 to 2014 and finally FOX aired the Miss Universe pageant from 2015 to 2019. With all major events not enjoying the high ratings they once did in their heydays and with so many other streaming options available today winning the eyes of viewers, pageants are no longer the draw to American viewers that they once were. I was hoping that ABC would pick up the Miss Universe pageant for 2020 seeing how they dropped the 2020 Miss America pageant which aired on NBC in December 2019 but that was not to be. Instead, the Miami-based Spanish network, Telemundo (which is under the NBC umbrella) is airing a Spanish broadcast of this 69th Miss Universe pageant for 2020 but the English American broadcast will be aired on the fyi network which recently aired the Miss USA 2020 pageant in November 2020 but this smaller channel is not available in all states and was also discontinued in Canada in 2019 so we are anticipating low ratings for this major event as all major events have experienced recently such as the Oscars which aired on April 25 with a 60 percent dip in ratings compared to the previous year. The Miss Universe pageant will be available the next day on the Roku channel and in various parts of Asia, the iqiyi app can be used to stream the pageant. It should also be noted that the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants will no longer be under the Miss Universe umbrella as of 2021 and will now be directed by Crystle Stewart-Miss USA 2008 
and those pageants are slated to be held from November 26 to 29, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Paradise Cove Theater in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and River Spirit Casino Resort. Crystle has also hinted that these events will be streamed so it looks like the days of pageants being shown on the major American networks are over. The Miss Teen USA pageant last aired on NBC in 2007 and has been webcast ever since.
Canada’s Nova Stevens is currently my winner at the moment so let’s see if she stays at the top of my list after preliminaries. I’ve been noted for being as objective as possible when making predictions so it’s actually pretty rare that I choose my own country as the winner and in fact, the only other time I chose Canada to win was back in 2006 when Alice Panikian competed and finished in the top 10. Canada had won the crown in the previous year 2005 thanks to Natalie Glebova who was a close third place on my predictions list for that year. Super Nova also happens to hail from my city of Vancouver as she has an amazing story that I think is right in sync with the direction of the IMG era of pageantry. Nova’s original name was Nyawal Bukjok and she was born in Nairobi, Kenya to a South Sudanese family that fled Sudan during a dangerous afflicted war time in her country, Nova was sent to Canada at the age of six to live with relatives in various regions of Canada including the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Nova’s family would later flee to Ethiopia and Nova recently was filmed reuniting with family members in Africa. Nova is believed to be the first woman of Sudanese descent to compete for the Miss Universe crown. Nova has even worked as a model in New York City and with her statuesque figure standing 6 feet tall, making her one of the tallest contestants this year, Nova is ready for the job. She has a captivating speaking ability and the gown she will wear in the competition was even designed by notable Filipino designer, Michael Cinco and his gowns have been known to be showstoppers. Recently, the Black Lives Matter movement has been making waves in America and increasingly around the world and Nova has been instrumental in organizing events like marches and rallies bringing awareness to the issue of inequality and she helped to lobby for Vancouver mayor, Kennedy Stewart to declare August 1 as Emancipation Day in Vancouver. She is also a spokesperson for the Keep6ix organization which helps youth from troubled backgrounds that were erroneously accused of criminal acts. 
Nova won the right to represent Canada on her third try at the national title finishing in the top 20 for 2018 and in the top 12 for 2014 under the name Nyawal Bukjok. Now, Nova has a chance to become the third Miss Universe for the true north, strong and free succeeding London, Ontario’s Karen Baldwin in 1982 and Toronto, Ontario’s Natalie Glebova in 2005. Of course, I have to point out the patterns and there are two that support a win for Nova for 2020. Canada won its 2005 Miss Universe crown eight years after the USA won the 1997 Miss Universe crown and now here we are, eight years after the USA won the 2012 crown so is it Canada’s time again? Also, it should be noted that Nova Stevens is the third black woman to represent Canada at Miss Universe succeeding Juliette Powell in 1989 and Adwoa Yamoah in 2012. The third black woman to represent the USA (Chelsi Smith) would go on to win Miss Universe 1995 succeeding Carole Gist in 1990 and Kenya Moore in 1993. Will the third black woman to represent Canada win the Miss Universe crown just like the third black woman to represent the USA? It’s also possible that we may have our second set of black-to-black winners if Nova succeeds Zozibini which hasn’t happened since 1999 when Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe succeeded Trinidad & Tobago’s Wendy Fitzwilliam. Four of the last five Miss USA winners were black so will a similar trend happen at Miss Universe? Hey, it’s only fair especially if four of the five Miss Universe winners from 1980 to 1984 were blonde or if four of the five Miss Universe winners from 2006 to 2010 were Latina.
Hailing from Transylvania, Bianca is an entrepreneur who started her own business at the age of 16 selling oral care products. However, Bianca has recently had to apologize after a picture of Bianca wearing black and gold make-up covering most of her face started circulating and Canada’s Nova Stevens pointed out her disappointment saying that it was not okay. When someone with light skin wears black or brown make-up, it is known as wearing blackface which is seen as in bad taste. Many prominent figures and performers have been seen wearing blackface in years past such as on sketch comedy shows or as part of a costume and recent attention has increasingly been drawn to its inappropriateness. In her online apology video, Bianca explained there was no malicious intent behind her actions and the picture to paint her face black and gold was the idea of a designer with whom Bianca had been working and that although there was a lack of judgment, there was no ill will and she pleaded to not identify her with a modelling job. She says we all need to learn more and to know more so perhaps we can use this incident as an opportunity to educate ourselves on this issue. Will this incident cost Romania their first placement in Miss Universe history or will this be an opportunity to heal and could Canada and Romania even be holding hands as the final two for Miss Universe 2020?? We’ll see what happens! Also, it is pretty rare for a first-time placing country to win the title. This hasn’t happened since Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe captured the 1999 Miss Universe crown and prior to that many other Miss Universe winners such as: Finland’s Armi Kuusela in 1952, France’s Christiane Martel in 1953, Colombia’s Luz Marina Zuluaga in 1958, Thailand’s Apasra Hongsakula in 1965, Puerto Rico’s Marisol Malaret in 1970, Trinidad & Tobago’s Janelle Commissiong in 1977 and Namibia’s Michelle McLean in 1992 all won their respective Miss Universe crowns for their country when placing amongst the semifinalists for the first time. Another delegate that has had to apologize was Russia’s Alina Sanko. Alina has also had success previously placing among the top 12 for Miss World 2019 and she is quite a talented artist. However, a recent online video showed Alina with a make-up artist appearing to mock some of the headshots of various contestants while scrolling through the Miss Universe voting site. While the make-up artist was making the comments, Alina appeared to be going along with what he was saying. She said she got confused and didn’t react immediately and she is endlessly sorry but she couldn’t stop the man from saying rude words about the contestants. She says she sincerely loves every person and that this was a harsh lesson and she hopes her example can prevent other people from making such a mistake and she asked for forgiveness. Here we have Russia’s delegate in a similar situation as the Romanian delegate so will this whole situation affect Alina’s chances? Russia won the Miss Universe crown in 2002 but that winner, Oxana Fedorova, was dethroned a few months later saying she wanted to finish her education but more likely due to her unwillingness to do the job after completing a degrading interview with Howard Stern which left the organization having to make excuses for her not making appearances. Russia also returned this year after an absence last year and they haven’t placed since 2012 when Elizaveta Golovanova made the top 10 so will Alina and her heartfelt apology be able to turn it around and possibly even get another win from Russia, with love??
Mexico’s Andrea Meza was first runner-up at Miss World 2017 so that high placement combined with Andrea’s amazing body and speaking skills immediately make her a front-runner for the 2020 Miss Universe crown and Andrea's wider-set facial structure reminds me a lot of Carole Gist-Miss USA 1990 and 1st runner up to Miss Universe 1990. Andrea holds a degree in software engineering which is a field dominated by men so she is proud of this achievement. She is also an activist working with the Municipal Institute for Women seeking to terminate gender violence and she works to fight for the rights of women and to have them play a more significant role in society. Andrea also actively fundraises working with an international charity association that aids downtrodden individuals in nations like India, Indonesia and China. She is a certified make-up artist and model who actively practices crossfit and various extreme sports. She has become a vegetarian due to her concern for the wellbeing of the world and animals. She is also the official Tourism Brand Ambassador for the state of Chihuahua promoting tourist attractions in that area. Mexico has won two Miss Universe crowns thanks to Lupita Jones in 1991 (who has directed Mexican pageants for years but Lupita also recently announced that she is running to hold the position of governor of the Mexican state of Baja California) and Ximena Navarrete in 2010 and they placed as 2nd runner up last year thanks to Sofia Aragon so the land of the Mariachi hopes that Andrea can get them a third Miss Universe crown. Brazil’s Julia Gama placed in the top 11 of Miss World 2014 which also makes her one to watch at Miss Universe. Julia has the unique distinction of being among the first Brazilian actresses in China! After appearing in Chinese films, Julia received the “The Most Incredible Award” from Belt and the Road Chinese Government International Initiative in 2017. Coming from a multiracial background with roots in Italy, Germany, Lebanon and Portugal, Julia is passionate about diverse cultures and she started working as an international ambassador for Leprosy six years ago and is an activist in India, China, Europe and Brazil and has received several distinctions from international organizations. Apart from being an actress, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Julia has also studied chemistry engineering and has a degree in drama arts. Julia is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and can communicate in Mandarin and German. Julia decided to leave China after the Covid pandemic arose and returned to Brazil to work with Smile Train. Brazil has won two Miss Universe crowns back in 1963 thanks to Ieda Maria Vargas and in 1968 thanks to Martha Vasconcellos and Brazil has placed every year since they hosted back in 2011 and they are expected to keep the streak going and place for a tenth year in a row along with the USA also placing every year since 2011 but the Philippines currently has the longest streak placing every year since 2010 and they anticipate Rabiya Mateo will be their 11th placement in a row which would match the streak that India previously enjoyed placing 11 consecutive years from 1992 to 2002.
The Philippines have four Miss Universe winners. The first was Gloria Diaz in 1969 and then 4 years later in 1973, Margarita Moran captured the crown then 42 years later in 2015, Pia Wurtzbach won and then 3 years later in 2018, Catriona Gray won so since the gap between Gloria and Margarita was four years then the gap between Pia and Catriona was three years, does that mean that Rabiya wins two years after Catriona?? Or does that mean we have to wait 42 years from 2018 until 2060 and then the Philippines wins Miss Universe 2060 and 2062?? Another one of this year’s frontrunners for the fan vote would be Thailand’s Amanda Obdam. Similarly to last year’s Thai representative, Paweensuda Drouin, Amanda also has a white Canadian father and a Thai mother and even attended Canada’s University of Toronto studying business administration. Rumor has it that Amanda will have approximately 150 outfits with her during a stay of only two weeks in Florida!! Talk about overpacking!! It must be nice to have that many sponsors though! Will it all pay off or is someone about to be humbled? Amanda has also been making news for being fired from being a mental health ambassador for Thailand after an October post on social media criticizing violence against Thai people after police had used a water cannon and tear gas on a group of unarmed protesters. Apparently, it was said that the title was revoked to avoid confusion among the public but perhaps the post was deemed too political. Then, there was an instance when after showing her planned Siamese fighting fish national costume, the delegate from Laos in the recently concluded Miss Grand International pageant (which was won by Abena Appiah who represented the USA at that pageant but previously went unplaced representing Ghana at Miss Universe 2014) decided to also wear a similar fish costume but there is no rule that two different contestants in two different pageants can’t both have a fish theme to their national costume! As that hilarious song by Housemaid featuring Kim says, “There are two things in the world that smell like fish… and one of them is fish...” Thailand has won the Miss Universe crown two times thanks to Apasra Hongsakula in 1965 and Porntip Nakhirunkanok in 1988 and the golden kingdom has a five-year streak in the semifinals placing in the top 10 every year since 2015 and Amanda obviously hopes to keep the streak going and she could very well get that chance and her chances could be helped if she wins the fan vote. Finally, Indonesia is another fan vote contender as they have won the national costume competition vote before so they could also do it. Indonesia has never won the crown but has enjoyed recent success placing in the top 10 last year and amongst the semifinals every year since 2013, excluding 2017. Ayu Maulida was sashed by the reigning Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi, upon winning the Puteri Indonesia title in March 2020 right before the Covid pandemic became a worldwide issue and Ayu prides herself in her Muslim faith and she comes from a royal background and also holds multiple other titles of distinction including being an Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly Ambassador, National Head of Communication of the Indonesian COVID-19 Response Acceleration Task Force and she is also a fashion model since age 14. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law graduating from Airlangga University in 2019. Ayu also won the 2019 Face of Asia competition after winning the preliminary Face of Indonesia contest. These very impressive achievements are bound to make Ayu a standout in this year’s competition so can Ayu keep up Indonesia’s recent success rate and could Ayu possibly be the first Miss Universe for the emerald of Southeast Asia??
Someday we’ll find it… “We going to Hollywood??!!” Well, not THAT Hollywood… Natasha Joubert who is representing Mandela’s rainbow nation of South Africa has double the pressure on her this year. Natasha is representing the country of the reigning Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi, which gives Natasha the opportunity to make South Africa the second country to win two years in a row after Venezuela did it in 2008 and 2009. Natasha also has the chance to make South Africa the first country to place in the top 2 for four years in a row which has never been done before! Colombia was 1st runner up three years in a row from 1992 to 1994 then Venezuela won in 1996 followed by two 1st runner up placements in 1997 and 1998. South Africa won in 2017, was 1st runner up in 2018 and then won again in 2019 so wouldn’t it be exciting if Natasha was to, at least, place in the top two making South Africa the first country to place in the top 2 four years in a row?? Natasha does have the ability to do it as she is one of this year’s strongest competitors with her outstanding appearance and strong speaking skills for which South Africans have become well-known. South Africa has enjoyed much recent success winning Miss World 2014 thanks to Rolene Strauss, Miss Universe 2017 thanks to Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Miss Universe 2019 thanks to Zozibini Tunzi with a 1st runner up placement in 2018 thanks to Tamaryn Green. South Africa’s first of three Miss Universe winners was Margaret Gardiner back in 1978. Interestingly enough, Natasha actually placed as the 2nd runner up at the Miss South Africa 2020 competition but was designated the representative for Miss Universe as South Africa’s actual winner Limpopo’s Shudufhadzo Musida will be sent to Miss World 2021 in December and 1st runner up Thato Mosehle will compete at Miss Supranational 2021. I was personally hoping to see Jordan van der Vyver take the South African crown but Natasha is a formidable candidate who will surely do the rainbow nation proud. Natasha is an accomplished, achieved woman who has an emotional story as her father passed away when she was a teenager. Natasha studied at the Boston City Campus and Business College where she received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing Management in 2020. She also worked as a public relations officer for a law firm, and as an entrepreneur as she is the founder and owner of a fashion design company called Natalia Jefferys. Natasha also previously represented South Africa at the 2016 Miss Globe competition finishing as 4th runner up that year. Now, Natasha will compete on the Miss Universe stage with a strong chance of taking it all. All of us under her spell, we know that it’s probably magic…
This year’s representative of the land down under is Maria Thattil and for the second year in a row, Australia is being represented by a woman of Indian descent succeeding Priya Serrao in 2019. Maria’s parents immigrated from India to Australia and Maria’s father hails from God’s own country, Kerala, where some of the world’s most brilliant and beautiful people are found and Maria’s mother hails from Kolkata. Maria is no ordinary candidate and she is competing for the Miss Universe crown to change the narrative with the ambition of being the shortest Miss Universe in history. Standing at approximately 1.6 meters tall (5’2.5”) which is around the average height for women, Maria is this year’s shortest contestant and although there is no height requirement at the Miss Universe pageant, it is generally an unspoken rule that contestants normally be above 5’6” and some national pageants even have the requirement that contestants be at least 5’6” since the perception is that taller is better since taller contestants normally have longer legs and that long, lean frame is traditionally perceived as ideal compared to a stumpy, short frame which is why shorter contestants normally do not fare well in the swimsuit competition. This presents a conundrum as Maria is easily one of this year’s best speakers and with more recent years being focused on interview skills, Maria may have enough facial beauty and charm and can talk her way into the semifinals. Maria has launched an Instagram empowerment series called ‘Mind With Me’ with the goal of instilling confidence in people encouraging them to live their best lives and she wanted to create a safe environment where people could discuss current events and encourage being comfortable in their own skin and positive mental health while combating racism, sexism and bullying. 
Maria also wants to challenge the fashion industry due to its lack of representation of shorter models and women of certain skin tones as she has recalled subtle micro-aggressions such as walking into a cosmetic store and being told that they don’t carry any make-up for her skin tone. This sounds very Pretty Woman-esque, no?? Maria now works with Ulta3 skincare brand as the face of a national beauty campaign to promote different ethnicities and body types. With the ambition to become an accredited life coach, Maria graduated with a psychology degree with Honours, and then with a Master’s degree in Management with First Class Honours, and was even nominated for a scholarship to Harvard University and she is one of this year’s oldest contestants at age 28 which indicates that she has the maturity to handle the job of Miss Universe. 
Venezuela had been hit hard economically even prior to the Covid pandemic and even during a national power outage that lasted 7 days, she was able to keep the business running and fulfilled every order by using a small power generator to keep the ovens running. Prior to competing for the Venezuelan crown, Mariangel lived an entire year without her right breast due to a complicated surgical operation… Similarly to other competitions which pre-tape different top contenders being crowned as the winner prior to the airing of the actual finale when it is learned who actually won, Mariangel watched herself being crowned the Venezuelan queen on TV at home alone without her family due to the pandemic. Even though Osmel is no longer training the Venezuelan delegates, his impact from his previous years seem to carry through to the current teams for that country as Mariangel certainly looks styled to perfection and with her fluency in English after living one year in New York City, Mariangel is showing up ready for the job and she is expected to carry on the tradition of strong Venezuelan competitors. Venezuela has captured seven Miss Universe crowns: Maritza Sayalero (1979), Irene Saez (1981), Barbara Palacios Teyde (1986), Alicia Machado (1996), Dayana Mendoza (2008), Stefania Fernandez (2009) and Gabriela Isler (2013) so is it finally time for Venezuela to match the USA and win 8 Miss Universe crowns and will Mariangel be the one to do it?? Since Osmel is not training the Venezuelan delegate, we will now focus on a delegate he is training, Argentina’s Alina Luz Akselrad. Alina is also impeccably styled and with her amazing body, Alina is sure to be one of the standouts in the swimsuit competition and she is also very warm-hearted and comes across as genuine and sincere. She is certainly accomplished also as she has certificates in persuasive writing and children’s rights from Harvard University and has even published her own book offering guidance and empowerment to young women. She actively volunteers and is involved in philanthropic work and advocates for cancer prevention after seeing her own mother beat the disease and Alina even hosts a radio show with her mother, “Mundo de Reinas” and also co-hosts a TV show about fashion trends and pageant news and she previously won the title of Miss Sudamérica 2017. Argentina hasn’t won the crown since 1962 when Norma Nolan captured the coveted title but their success rate in recent years isn’t that great as they haven’t placed since 2014 so will the Wizard of Osmel turn the hourglass around and help bring the land of Evita some success similar to that of Venezuela??
The other country Osmel Sousa is directing is Uruguay being represented by Tania (Lola) de Los Santos Bicco who is one of the few openly LGBTQ+ contestants to come out prior to compete for the Miss Universe crown. In November 2019, Myanmar’s, Swe Zin Htet declared that she was a lesbian just one month prior to competing for Miss Universe 2019 becoming the first openly lesbian woman to compete in a Miss Universe competition. Prior to this, Yulia Lemigova, Miss USSR 1991 and 2nd runner up to 1991 Miss Universe title, came out years after competing and even became the spouse of tennis star, Martina Navratilova. Additionally, Patricia Yurena Rodríguez of Spain who was 1st runner up at the 2013 Miss Universe competition came out but did not do so until after competing for the Miss Universe title. Spain also had Sofia del Prado who made the top 10 of Miss Universe 2017 who also came out post-competition and the land of flamenco even has Miss Universe’s first openly transgendered contestant, Angela Ponce who competed for the 2018 title going unplaced that year. Lola studied in the field of Human Resources and is working as a community manager in Paysandú and she has competed for various other pageant titles previously. Growing up, Lola was bullied and volunteers for various anti-bullying organizations. She loves skateboarding and skating and is presently learning to surf. While Spain 2018 and Myanmar 2019 didn’t place, there is still the opportunity for the first openly LGBTQ+ delegate to actually place among the semifinals so will Lola be the first to do so? Uruguay has never won the Miss Universe crown. In fact, placements for the land of the Gauchos are quite rare with their most recent being in 1985 when Andrea Lopez placed as 4th runner up. Will Lola be able to do it?
We won’t be talking about conservatorships here but rather about Great Britain’s delegate, Jeanette Akua. Of South African and Ghanaian descent, Jeanette Akua is passionate about music and education and holds a Master’s degree in International Economic Policy and Analysis. Currently working as a business development manager at a leading economic consultancy, Jeanette speaks at global conferences, addressing CEOs and world leaders. Perhaps even more impressive is that Jeanette defeated some power-players who were also competing for this year’s Great Britain title including: Sophie Moulds who previously represented Wales placing as 1st runner up at Miss World 2012, Amy Meisak who placed among the top 16 at Miss Earth 2015 representing Scotland and later competed for Miss Grand International 2017 and England’s Stephanie Hill who placed as 2nd runner up at Miss World 2017. The fact that she defeated two Miss World runners-up immediately makes Jeanette one to watch as her compelling story must have put her over the top of some strong contenders. Similarly to the story of Miss Universe 2017, South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Jeanette and a friend of hers were kidnapped by thugs when she was handing out flyers in Johannesburg at age 18 but they were released when a ransom was paid. After being rejected for South African Idols, Jeanette relocated to London, England and then competed in the X Factor UK in 2013 and placed as a top 10 finalist and has written and released her own music with over a million streams. With her singing talent, perhaps Jeanette Akua could have a similar type of win as Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh who won Miss World 2019 after winning that pageant’s talent competition performing her own rendition of Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Have Nothing.” Jeanette’s most recent single is called “You Will See Me Fly” and here is the video for that song.
This year’s Finnish delegate is Viivi Altonen who is a scuba-diving teacher and model from Tampere, Finland. She also studies social psychology and anthropology due to her fascination with the human mind and social behaviors. Truly a citizen of the world, Viivi has also travelled extensively visiting over thirty countries and she has even lived in four countries which are: Finland, Switzerland, Mozambique and India where she even appeared in Bollywood films and was treated like a movie star! As a scuba diving instructor, Viivi even had a frightening encounter with a shark in the waters of Mozambique. Viivi’s international travels have dramatically improved her ability to speak English and she now speaks it fluently in addition to her mother tongue of Finnish along with some basic Swedish and German and her experiences have brought about an ever increasing awareness of the significant inequalities between genders all around the world, even in her home country Finland which is universally considered one of the most equal countries in the world. As a result, Viivi was motivated to volunteer for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and launch her #SheCan campaign to encourage discourse about equal rights and to empower young women to work towards their dreams regardless of their identity, life experiences or socioeconomic background. She wants to spread the message that everything is possible if you believe in yourself and she also lives this message herself. 
Whew chile, I’s gettin’ hungry… One of this year’s most photogenic contestants would have to be the beautiful Daniela Nicolas of the land of the Andes, Chile. Daniela Nicolas is an actress, professional makeup artist and a journalism and sign-language student. She has acted in four television sitcoms so Daniela is quite well-known in her country. In 2019, Daniela journeyed to Boston, Massachusetts in order to study English and she is currently working on completing her training in business and retail. 
In 2015, she had a life-changing experience after having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called undifferentiated connective tissue disease. She managed to conjure up the strength to overcome the disease and she actively volunteers and supports other people with this condition, particularly children who are diagnosed. Daniela is passionate about social work and she considers one of her main passions as the ability to use her position and powerful presence in various forms of media to contribute to positively influencing society to become more understanding and inclusive.