Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa was crowned the 2017 Miss Universe pageant winner on Sunday. Nel-Peters beat out 91 other contestants from around the world to win Miss Universe, which previously held by Iris Mittenaere of France. The event aired live from The Axis at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, and was hosted again by Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham. Check out the video below of New-Peters being crowned.
Fergie and Rachel Platten performed during the Miss Universe pageant. This year’s judges were Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam, haircare specialist Farouk Shami, Ross Mathews, Fox Sports 1 host Megan Olivi, Jay Manuel, YouTube personality Lele Pons, and 2015 Miss Universe winner Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach judged the Miss Universe 2017 pageant contestants from around the globe. The women competed in swimsuit, evening gown, and interview competitions. Kara McCullough of Washington, D.C. represented the United States as Miss USA.
Before Sunday’s live show even aired, the 92 contestants were narrowed down to 16 semi-finalists. Those women were Miss Thailand (Maria Poonlertlarp), Miss Sri Lanka (Christina Peiris), Miss Ghana (Ruth Quashie), Miss South Africa (Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters), Miss Spain (Sofia del Prado), Miss Ireland (Cailin Toibin), Miss Croatia (Shanaelle Petty), Miss Great Britain (Anna Burdzy), Miss Colombia (Laura Gonzalez), Miss USA (Kara McCullough), Miss Brazil (Monalysa Alcantara), Miss Canada (Lauren Howe), Miss Philippines (Rachel Peters), Miss Venezuela (Keysi Sayago), Miss Jamaica (Davina Bennett), and Miss China (Roxana Qiu).
After the swimsuit contest, only 10 contestants were left. They were Miss USA, Miss Venezuela, Miss Brazil, Miss Thailand, Miss Philippines, Miss South Africa, Miss Canada, Miss Spain, Miss Jamaica, and Miss Colombia. Next was the evening gown competition, which whittled down the group to five women. They were Miss South Africa, Miss Venezuela, Miss Thailand, Miss Jamaica, and Miss Colombia.
It was then time for the crucial the interview round. Often the responses of the contestants either solidify or sink their chances of wearing the Miss Universe crown. Miss South Africa was asked what’s the most important issue facing women today in the workplace. Meanwhile, Miss Venezuela had to answer whether she felt social media had a positive or negative affect on the way we judge beauty. And Miss Thailand was questioned what’s the most important social movement of her generation.
Then, Miss Jamaica was faced with a question about sexual harassment and how men and women can work together to tackle the issue. And Miss Colombia had to answer how she would explain terrorism to a child since it’s one of the main threats facing the world today. By the time the interview round was over, it was just Miss Jamaica, Miss Colombia, and Miss South Africa. Those three finalists were then asked what quality she was most proud of and how she would apply that to her time as Miss Universe.
Before announcing the winner of the Miss Universe 2017 pageant, it was revealed the second runner-up was Miss Jamaica. It then came down to Miss Colombia and Miss South Africa, and the 2017 Miss Universe is Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa. Below is video of Nel-Peters being crowned Miss Universe. Video will be up shortly.