THE PRETHOUGHTS
THE RESULTS (December 13, 2021)
Congratulations to Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu of India! This is the third Miss Universe crown for the country where love is the essence of life succeeding their previous wins of Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. Harnaaz also happens to have been born in the year 2000 when her country last won! Harnaaz's win propelled India into the elite eight countries that have won Miss Universe three times or more. The other 7 countries are: USA, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden and Mexico. See the updated list of Who Has the Most Miss Universes.
This year, there was a reduced number of placements compared to the previous Miss Universe pageant going from a top 21 to a top 16 with the 16th spot going to the winner of online vote which went to Vietnam for the second year in a row. Some special awards were also handed out which included Best National Costume which went to the delegate from Nigeria – Maristella Okpala. There was a Social Impact Award given to Chile's Antonia Figueroa and the Carnival Spirit Award given to THE Bahamas' Chantel O'Brian. They appear to have permanently done away with the regional divisions this year and interestingly enough, Europe only had two delegates place (France and Great Britain) just like last year coincidentally but only France advanced to the top 10. In 2019, 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, this year had some major surprises but I think the winner was quite clear from the start. For those of you who read my first and second round prethoughts, you will know that India was my winner up until preliminaries when I was debating between Belgium and India but of course, I just had to make the wrong choice... Ugh. I decided at the end to give Belgium my win when I should have stuck with India as it turns out Belgium didn't even place so it looks like Kedist of Nazareth with her stunning face and compelling story of being adopted from Ethiopia didn't pull her into the semifinals. Coincidentally, this is the second year in a row when I chose a delegate that was born in Africa but was representing a first world nation as last year, I chose Canada's Nova Stevens who had a similar story but also went unplaced... I picked 8 of the top 16 plus 2 alternates (Vietnam and Japan) and 1 honorable mention (Philippines). 5 of the semifinalists missed my list entirely and they were: Aruba, THE Bahamas (okay, we get it...it's THE Bahamas, not Bahamas), Great Britain, Panama and Singapore. Interviews were held before the preliminary swimsuit and gown competitions so usually this leads to more surprises than expected. The eight ladies in my list that didn't place were: my winner Belgium, Brazil (whose streak in the semifinals was broken this year as they had placed every year from 2011 to 2020 whereas the streaks of USA placing every year since 2011 and the Philippines placing every year since 2010 which gives them the longest streak in the semifinals still currently), Canada, Namibia, Portugal, Ghana, Spain and Chile.
Shalom! In a historic pageant first, the 70th Miss Universe pageant is going to be held for the first time in the Holy Land in the resort city of Eilat in Israel. The reigning Miss Universe, Mexico’s Andrea Meza has been doing the media rounds and touring the Holy land in preparation for this experience and she appreciated this opportunity seeing how she is of a Catholic background. The 2021 Miss Universe pageant will be held in the Universe Arena which is a special venue being built especially for the pageant in Portugal and being shipped to that small land with a very rich history, Israel. The pageant will be held in the middle of the night in Eilat as previous pageants held in that time zone have been (i.e. Namibia 1995 and Cyprus 2000) to coincide with the American prime time live scheduled date of December 12. The 2013 Miss Universe pageant which was held in Moscow, Russia was held during a normal time though in that country and aired on tape delay on Saturday, November 9, 2013 but the television ratings suffered and in this Internet age where news is spread instantly, many people already heard that Venezuela’s Gabriela Isler won the 2013 Miss Universe crown prior to the pageant airing in local time in the Americas which is why tape delay isn’t really a thing for major live events but some athletic events like the Olympics often have events summarized and highlight reels are aired later. This is a sharp contrast to the 1973 Miss Universe pageant which was held in Athens, Greece at 8 pm local time and was aired tape delayed for the American viewing audience but this was long before the Internet was a thing so the news of the Philippines’ Margarita Moran’s win did not spread as rapidly! 
Gring-ding-ding-ding-ding-a-dingy-ding! Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow! Thanks for the earworm, Ylvis! However, we’ll be talking about the FOX network in this article! FOX returns as the American broadcaster of the Miss Universe pageant after the 2020 pageant was shown on the fyi network which is not available in all states or Canada. I feared that our beloved pageant would no longer be on a major network but Steve Harvey is returning as host this year after completing his five-year deal to host from 2015 to 2019 which were also broadcast on FOX so it looks like Steve has a new deal but the length of it hasn’t been disclosed so Steve Harvey’s involvement in order for Miss Universe to be broadcast on FOX must be part of the overall deal. It appears like another part of the deal was that Miss USA would no longer be broadcast on FOX which last broadcasted it in 2019 but the 2020 and 2021 Miss USA pageants were shown on fyi. Miss Teen USA has been webcast since 2008. So it looks Miss USA and Miss Teen USA can no longer stay under the Miss Universe Organization’s umbrella-ella-ella-ella. Ironically, Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” was the evening gown song of the 2008 Miss USA pageant which was won by Texas’ Crystle Stewart who is now the director of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA! Oh, the pageant-knowledge connections! I’m jizzing glitter… Anyway, FOX interestingly enough is now under the Disney umbrella since 2018. I almost titled this headline ‘You Can’t Stand Under My Umbrella-ella-ella,’ but ah, well! But whither goes our American pageants now? Miss USA is being broadcast on fyi for now and live streamed on Hulu but Miss America on December 16 will only be streamed on peacock and not broadcast on a major network. NBC broadcast the Miss America 2020 pageant which aired in December 2019 and for years prior to that, ABC was broadcasting it. Sadly, it looks like both Miss USA and Miss America may never return to a major network again now that we have hit this stage so in this ever-changing world of media consumption, streaming appears to be the future of American pageantry but Miss Universe has a large international following outside of first world nations so hopefully that will be enough to keep us on a major American network but pageantry doesn’t appear to be thriving as it once did.
Halleberrylujah! She is risen! Belgium’s Kedist Deltour is certainly one to watch in Israel. This stunning beauty is an overcomer who has quite the story about her incredible destiny. She was born in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. At the age of eight, Kedist’s mother tragically died of cancer. Soon, after her father would marry but Kedist claims that her stepmother was physically abusive, and when she was nine years old, her father abandoned her and her siblings at an orphanage. When Kedist was nine years ago in 2006, she and both of her siblings were generously adopted by a Belgian couple Peter and Nadège Deltour, and they were relocated to Westhoek in West Flanders. Naturally, Kedist is incredibly thankful to her adoptive parents who afforded her these opportunities and became very emotional upon winning the Miss Belgium title. She says since 1 in 6 children live below the poverty line in Belgium and since she herself experienced poverty as a child in Ethiopia, Kedist wants to give back and help those in need and she even wants to build schools in Ethiopia never forgetting from where she came. Kedist would later complete training to work as a hairdresser, and later moved to the town of Nazareth in East Flanders. Of course, this is a different Nazareth from which Jesus hailed but wouldn’t it be fitting for a woman from Nazareth to win Miss Universe in Israel??? I thank my friend Wassim for pointing this out! Belgium has never won the Miss Universe crown but the diamond capital of Europe has placed among the top 6 twice in 1981 finishing 5th place thanks to Dominique van Eeckhoudt and 6th place in 1992 thanks to the leggy, sensational starlet, Anke van Dermeersch and they last placed among the top 20 in 2018. Is Kedist about to bring the centre of the European community back in a big way and is she the chosen one?? Will we be calling beautiful Kedist-the Wonderful Counsellor, Queen of Peace, Name above all Names?? We will soon find out!!
France, the land of the crêpe, has been doing a bit of pancaking or flip-flopping the order of their delegates being sent to Miss Universe and such is the case with this year’s French delegate, Clemence Botino. Due to the uncertainty of dates of the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants and with the Coronavirus pandemic affecting dates and the world in general as the Miss France pageant is normally also held in December, it was decided that Amandine Petit who was crowned Miss France 2021 would be sent to represent France at Miss Universe 2020 which was held in May 2021 where Amandine placed among the top 21. So that Amandine could crown Miss France 2022, which is being held on December 11 (the day before the Miss Universe 2021 pageant), Clemence Botino who was actually crowned Miss France 2020 (the year before Amandine won) is now finally getting her opportunity to compete at Miss Universe 2021. Good for France for sticking to tradition and thinking ahead, I say. This same scenario was previously replicated when Flora Coquerel competed at Miss Universe 2015 placing among the top 5 that year but Flora’s Miss France successor, Camille Cerf, competed at Miss Universe 2014 (which was held in January 2015) placing among the top 15 for Miss Universe 2014. My friend Wassim points out that since the same scenario that happened to Flora is also happening to Clemence with their flip-flop (crêpe) delegates Amandine and Camille placing just as semifinalists and not advancing past the first round, that could mean that she is destined for a spot in the top 5, just like Flora! Wouldn’t that be as delicious as a crêpe if that happened??? May we??? Mais, oui!!! 
We’ll call this year’s Thai delegate, Anchilee Thee Stallion. Anchilee Scott-Kemmis is representing the golden kingdom of Thailand which currently is enjoying a six-year streak placing in the top 10 at Miss Universe since 2015 so the mystery here is could Anchilee make it seven years in a row or does the streak end here? Anchilee is noticeably and unconventionally, shall we say, heavier than the usual Miss Universe delegate but a lot of people are thinking that she could be this year’s body positivity (or positiviThai) delegate similarly to Canada’s Siera Bearchell who placed in the top 9 at Miss Universe 2016 despite having an unusually more curvaceous figure compared to the rest of the semifinalists. Thailand also seems to be borrowing a note from the Philippines but sending an Australian delegate like Catriona Gray-Miss Universe 2018 who has a Caucasian-Australian father just like Anchilee so we shall soon see if sending an Aussie delegate is the key. Anchilee was born on July 30, 1999 to her Australian father and Thai mother. She is a graduate of NIST International School in Bangkok where she played softball and volleyball and she was even captain of her high school volleyball team proving that she is athletic in spite of her body type and she later received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Sydney, Australia. Anchilee’s social media shows multiple posts where she candidly discusses her body image struggles, as well as advocating for the public to accept themselves the way they are often using the hashtag #RealSizeBeauty. Thailand has a very large pageant following and they have won online votes before so they could do it for Anchilee this year. Thailand has captured the Miss Universe crown twice thanks to Apasra Hongsakula in 1965 and Porntip Nakhirunkanok in 1988 and they have even hosted the Miss Universe pageant three times with 13 year gaps in between: in 1992, in 2005 and in 2018. Will Anchilee Thee Stallion finally get Thailand that third Miss Universe crown they have been longing for this year?
She’s got to let it show! The pearl of the Orient seas, the Philippines, is doing a historic first this year by sending a delegate who is openly a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Beatrice Luigi Gomez is openly bisexual and was previously in a relationship with disc jockey and entrepreneur Kate Jagdon. Multifaceted Beatrice wears many hats working as a model, community development worker, athlete, beauty pageant titleholder, and military sergeant! There could be a Deshauna Barber-esque story here as Beatrice completed the citizens military course training of the Philippine Army Reserve Command in Eastern Visayas in January 2021 which allowed her to be part of the Philippine Navy Reserve Unit, with the rank of corporal and as recently as October 2021, Gomez was promoted to the higher ranking position of sergeant! Beatrice also studied at the University of San Jose–Recoletos pursuing a degree in mass communication. Simultaneously, she also played varsity volleyball for the university in addition to that athleticism, she also participates in boxing, scuba diving and mixed martial arts. Beatrice is a co-founders of BEyouthfulPH which is an organization that gives aid and provides assistance is bettering the lives of disadvantaged children throughout the Philippines. They particularly focus on children in conflict with the law, guiding and inspiring them to become more proactive and law-abiding Filipino citizens. She also dreams of a future where younger members of the LGBTQ+ community would not have to suffer from bullying and violence and as all members of that community desire, Beatrice preaches acceptance and inclusivity and recognized the need for equal rights and protection under the law from various forms of violence as they are often oppressed even by members of their own family. Beatrice dominated her nation’s pageant winning the Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown, Miss Cream Silk, and Miss Luxxe ImmunPlus Game Changer awards in addition to the Miss Universe Philippines’ title.
In 2012, Philippines made the top 5 as did Puerto Rico in 2018, then in 2013, Philippines made the top 5 as did Puerto Rico in 2019, then in 2014, Philippines placed in the top 10 as Puerto Rico did in 2020, then in 2015, Philippines won so does that mean Puerto Rico wins in 2021??? The shining star of the Caribbean has an impressive track record at Miss Universe capturing five Miss Universe crowns in 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001 and 2006 so it is time again for the Boricuas and will Michelle be the one to do it?
I’m the same boy I used to be... Let’s call this the Miss Universe mash-up thanks to an earworm courtesy of Steve Winwood and Eric Prydz where we will discuss the Valeria’s competing this year from Colombia and Costa Rica! First, Valeria Maria Ayos Bossa represents the world’s finest coffee land, Colombia. No stranger to the international pageant world, Valeria previously represented her country in the 2018 Miss Earth competition where she finished as the second runner-up earning the Miss Earth-Water title so will Valeria replicate this feat at Miss Universe 2021 or perhaps surpass it? Valeria certainly has a heart for environmental causes as well as a great body combined with a fierce catwalk so look for Valeria to have a strong showing at this year’s Miss Universe competition. Her exotic appearance can be attributed to having a father is Colombian of Spanish descent while her mother is of Trinidadian descent. Valeria also obtained her bachelor's degree in international relations from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá, Colombia. Valeria was originally supposed to compete for the 2020 Colombian crown but a bout with Covid in addition to partial facial paralysis caused her to withdraw but she recovered in time to capture the 2021 Colombian crown. She says that although she was born in Cartagena, she was later raised in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, so in addition to Spanish, she is also fluent in English which should only help Valeria in this era of pageantry as fluency in English is now looked at as more of a job requirement for Miss Universe in recent years. She claims that after she was appointed as the representative of the San Andrés Island, some negative comments of people from that area had not stopped, because she is not a native of that area. She claims the comments against her led Valeria to enter a stress crisis that ended in facial paralysis and she has had to start treatment… Valeria would represent Cartagena for the 2021 Colombian pageant defeating the heavy favorite from Risaralda, María Alejandra López Pérez. Colombia has captured the Miss Universe crown twice thanks to Luz Marina Zuluaga in 1958 and Paulina Vega for 2014 with a whopping 6 1st runners-up obtained in the years of 1992, 1993, 1994, 2008, 2015 and 2017. Colombia has placed in six of the last seven Miss Universe pageants, excluding 2018. Is Valeria about to add to Colombia’s impressive track record at Miss Universe? The other Valeria competing this year will be Colombia’s roommate and it is the delegate of the land of peace and brotherhood, Costa Rica and her name is Valeria Rees. Vale-Rees, call on me! As mentioned earlier, Costa Rica was in talks to host the Miss Universe pageant and it didn’t happen for 2021 as we all know since Israel is hosting but will they host in 2022? We’ll see what happens but Costa Rica has never won the Miss Universe crown but they did make the top 10 last year thanks to Ivonne Cerdas. Valeria was actually appointed as this year’s Costa Rican delegate as Ivonne’s first runner up. She studies law and works as a model and being open about a previous struggle with anorexia, Valeria created a foundation to support people with eating disorders which is called Open Cage Foundation. Will Valeria capture her nation’s first Miss Universe crown? Hey, Valeria! Call on Mia!
Luiseth obtained a bachelor's degree with honors in Social Comunications specializated in Publicity and Audiovisual Arts given by Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas and has ambitions to become an actress. Luiseth was previously crowned Miss Globe Venezuela in 2015 but did not get the opportunity to compete at the Miss Globe pageant due to terrorist attacks going on in that year’s host country of Turkey. Venezuela has hit some hard times in recent years even prior to the Covid pandemic affecting the world so we shall see if Luiseth can bring them back in a big way. Venezuela has captured a whopping seven Miss Universe crowns thanks to Maritza Sayalero in 1979, Irene Saez in 1981, Barbara Palacios Teyde in 1986, Alicia Machado in 1996 (who recently won a ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ type of show called ‘La Casa de los Famosos’), Dayana Mendoza in 2008, Stefania Fernandez in 2009 and Gabriela Isler in 2013. 
“Africa! Exotic Namibia!” As you might have noticed, the smile on the face of Africa, Namibia’s delegate, Chelsi Shikongo has a very familiar name and you would be right in your assumption that Chelsi’s parents named her after the late, great Miss Universe 1995, Chelsi Smith who won her international crown in the country of Namibia! On social media, Chelsi Shikongo posted a tribute to her father. "My father knew this day would come giving me the name Chelsi. I truly believe in the power of Manifestation, Hardwork and Prayer.
The country which embodies unity through diversity, India sends us Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu who is already among the favorites for this year’s Miss Universe crown. Coming fresh off a third runner up finish in the 2020 Miss Universe pageant thanks to Adline Castelino, India is trying to reclaim the powerhouse status that seems to have eluded them and this well-spoken beauty, Harnaaz could very well be the one to do it. Harnaaz was born in the year 2000 which is when India won its last Miss Universe crown thanks to Lara Dutta and their first Miss Universe crown was won by Sushmita Sen in 1994 pictured here being crowned by Miss Universe 1993-Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico and sashed by Miss Universe 1969-Gloria Diaz of the Philippines. Harnaaz first competed in the Femina Miss India 2019 competition finishing in the top 12 representing Punjab state. The Femina Miss India pageant started sending its winners to Miss World since 2007 with the runner-up being sent to Miss Universe (previously its winners were sent to Miss Universe prior to 2007) but this led to a separation of the franchise and the Indian delegate for Miss Universe has been a separate event since 2010. Indian women who seek the Miss Universe crown now compete in the Miss Diva Universe competition. Harnaaz also won several awards at the Miss Diva Universe contest including the Miss Beautiful Skin award, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Photogenic and Miss Talented. Harnaaz was born and raised in Chandigarh and attended Shivalik Public School and the Post Graduate Government College for Girls there and she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public administration. Harnaaz has very good speaking skiils and also comes across as warm, delicate and sincere. Is it finally time for India to reclaim its glory and win another Miss Universe crown with a bright, young lady who was born when India’s last Miss Universe was won?? We’ll soon find out!