Miss Universe 2023 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miss Universe 2023
Date	18 November 2023
Presenters	Jeannie Mai Maria Menounos Olivia Culpo Catriona Gray Zuri Hall
Entertainment	John Legend
Venue	José Adolfo Pineda Arena, San Salvador, El Salvador
Broadcaster	International: The Roku Channel Telemundo Official broadcaster: Canal 2 YouTube
Entrants	84
Placements	20
Debuts	Pakistan
Withdrawals	Armenia Belize Bhutan China Ghana Haiti Kyrgyzstan Seychelles Turkey Uruguay
Returns	Denmark Egypt Guyana Hungary Ireland Kazakhstan Latvia Mongolia Norway Zimbabwe
Winner	Sheynnis Palacios  Nicaragua
Congeniality	Athenea Pérez  Spain
← 2022 2024 →

Miss Universe 2023 was the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena in San Salvador, El Salvador on 18 November 2023.

At the end of the event, R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States crowned Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua as Miss Universe 2023, marking the country's first win in the pageant's history.

Contestants from eighty-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition was presented by Jeannie Mai and Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo for the second consecutive time, along with Maria Menounos. Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Zuri Hall also served as backstage correspondents for the second consecutive time. John Legend performed in this year's pageant.

Background

Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in October 2023

Location and date

On 14 January 2023, during the Miss Universe 2022 pageant, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele announced that the 72nd edition will be held in El Salvador in late 2023, after having last hosted the pageant in 1975. Later, on 27 July 2023, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the pageant will take place on 18 November 2023.

The choice of El Salvador has been met with criticism due to the country's ongoing state of emergency amid the Salvadoran gang crackdown.

Selection of participants

Contestants from eighty-four countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Five of these delegates were appointed to the position after being runners-up in their national pageant, or being chosen through a casting process. For the first time since 1957, the Miss Universe Organization allowed the participation of married women and women with children to compete in the pageant.

Replacements

Namuunzul Batmagnai, the second runner-up of Miss Universe Mongolia 2023, was appointed to represent Mongolia after the original winner, Nominzul Zandangiin was deemed unable to compete due to undisclosed reasons. Le Thao Nhi, the first runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2022, was initially set to participate in this year's edition. However, the Saigon Universe Joint Stock Company has lost the Miss Universe franchise since February 2023, and the license was transferred to the Miss Universe Vietnam Trading Joint Stock Company. After the negotiation process between the two companies failed, the latter decided to organize a new contest called Miss Universe Vietnam to choose the new representative of Vietnam at Miss Universe. The winner of the contest was Quỳnh Hoa Bùi.

Debuts, returns and withdrawals

This edition marked the debut of Pakistan; and the returns of Denmark, Egypt, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Mongolia, Norway, and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe last competed in 2001; Latvia last competed in 2006; Guyana last competed in 2017; Egypt and Mongolia last competed in 2019; meanwhile the others last competed in 2021.

Armenia, Belize, Bhutan, Ghana, Haiti, Seychelles, Turkey, and Uruguay withdrew after their respective organizations failed to appoint a delegate, hold a national competition, or lost their national franchise. Maya Turdalieva was appointed to represent Kyrgyzstan after Diami Almazbekova, the original representative of Kyrgyzstan, decided to withdraw from the competition due to lack of preparation. Turdalieva was then replaced by Akylai Kalberdieva due to undisclosed reasons. However, Kalberdieva also decided to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons, leading to Kyrgyzstan's withdrawal from the competition. Miss Universe China 2023 Jia Qi withdrew due to logistical problems, and will compete at the next edition of Miss Universe.

Results

Placements

§ – Voted into the Top 20 by viewers

Special awards

Voice For Change

In the run-up to the main pageant, the contestants competed in the Voice For Change competition, where they shared their advocacies in the course of a three-minute video. A sponsored segment with jewelry brand Mouawad and communication platform CI Talks, the winners of the competition was determined through an online vote and by a selection committee. The ten silver finalists were announced during the preliminary competition, while the three gold winners were announced during the finals.

Pageant

Format

The Miss Universe Organization introduced several specific changes to the format for this edition. The number of semifinalists was increased to twenty—the same number of semifinalists in 2019. The results of the preliminary competition held on 15 November 2023, which consisted of the swimsuit and evening gown competition, and the closed-door interviews, determined the first nineteen semi-finalists selected at-large. Moreover, online voting was used again in this edition, with the voting public determining the twentieth delegate to advance into the semi-finals. The twenty semi-finalists competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to ten afterward. The ten semi-finalists then competed in the evening gown competition in which five delegates were chosen to advance as finalists. The five finalists competed in the interview questions, and were narrowed down to three. The three finalists competed in the final question, after which Miss Universe 2023 and her two runners-up were announced.

Selection committee

• Halima Aden – Somali-American model
• Mario Bautista – Mexican singer (only as final telecast judge)
• Giselle Blondet – Puerto Rican actress and television host
• Janelle Commissiong – Miss Universe 1977 from Trinidad and Tobago
• Nadia Ferreira – Paraguayan model, Miss Universe Paraguay 2021 and Miss Universe 2021 1st runner-up (only as final telecast judge)
• Avani Gregg – American social media personality (only as final telecast judge)
• Carson Kressley – American actor, designer and television personality (only as final telecast judge)
• Connie Mariano – Filipino-American physician
• Iris Mittenaere – Miss Universe 2016 from France
• Sweta Patel – Vice President of Growth Marketing and Merchandising at Roku (only as final telecast judge)
• Denise White – American businesswoman and Miss Oregon USA 1994

Contestants

Eighty-four contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age	Hometown
Albania	Demneri, EndiEndi Demneri	25	Tirana
Angola	Coimbra, AnaAna Coimbra	23	Benguela
Argentina	Dajud, YamileYamile Dajud	27	Buenos Aires
Aruba	Croes, KarolKarol Croes	27	Oranjestad
Australia	Wilson, MorayaMoraya Wilson	22	Melbourne
Bahamas	Ingraham, MelissaMelissa Ingraham	26	Long Island
Bahrain	Yacoub, LujaneLujane Yacoub	19	Hamala
Belgium	Vansteenkiste, EmilieEmilie Vansteenkiste	22	Elewijt
Bolivia	Rivero, EstefanyEstefany Rivero	26	Trinidad
Brazil	Brechane, MariaMaria Brechane	19	Rio Grande
British Virgin Islands	Fahie, AshellicaAshellica Fahie	28	Tortola
Bulgaria	Pavlikova, YuliiaYuliia Pavlikova	30	Kerch
Cambodia	John, SotimaSotima John	23	Kampong Cham
Cameroon	Princesse, IssieIssie Princesse	22	Littoral Region
Canada	Kvaltin, MadisonMadison Kvaltin	25	Greater Sudbury
Cayman Islands	Powery, IleannIleann Powery	26	West Bay
Chile	Viel, CelesteCeleste Viel	24	Santiago
Colombia	Avella, CamilaCamila Avella	28	Yopal
Costa Rica	Valverde, LisbethLisbeth Valverde	28	Uvita
Croatia	Erjavec, AndreaAndrea Erjavec	23	Perušić
Curaçao	Rossen, KimKim Rossen	26	Willemstad
Czech Republic	Švédová, VanesaVanesa Švédová	20	Přerov
Denmark	Hansen, NikolineNikoline Hansen	21	Valby
Dominican Republic	Downing, MarianaMariana Downing	27	Cotuí
Ecuador	Stoffers, DelaryDelary Stoffers	23	Guayaquil
Egypt	Tantawy, MohraMohra Tantawy	21	Cairo
El Salvador	García-Manzo, IsabellaIsabella García-Manzo	20	San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea	Hinestrosa, DianaDiana Hinestrosa	25	Corisco
Finland	Joukanen, PaulaPaula Joukanen	22	Helsinki
France	Leyre, DianeDiane Leyre	26	Paris
Germany	Bleicher, HelenaHelena Bleicher	24	Ravensburg
Great Britain	Page, JessicaJessica Page	28	Liverpool
Greece	Zaloumi, MarieliaMarielia Zaloumi	20	Athens
Guatemala	Cohn, MichelleMichelle Cohn	28	Guatemala City
Guyana	Narine, LisaLisa Narine	26	Pomeroon-Supenaam
Honduras	Clemente, ZuheilynZuheilyn Clemente	23	Tegucigalpa
Hungary	Blága, TündeTünde Blága	27	Hidegség
Iceland	Pétursdóttir, LiljaLilja Pétursdóttir	19	Reykjavík
India	Sharda, ShwetaShweta Sharda	23	Chandigarh
Indonesia	Groeneveld, FabiënneFabiënne Groeneveld	23	Jakarta
Ireland	Akorede, AishahAishah Akorede	24	Leixlip
Italy	Panepinto, CarmenCarmen Panepinto	24	Vittoria
Jamaica	Levy, JordanneJordanne Levy	27	Kingston
Japan	Miyazaki, RioRio Miyazaki	20	Shizuoka
Kazakhstan	Zair, TomirisTomiris Zair	20	Almaty
Kosovo	Rrahmani, ArbesaArbesa Rrahmani	22	Ferizaj
Laos	Lathsabanthao, PhaimanyPhaimany Lathsabanthao	28	Vientiane
Latvia	Alexeeva, KateKate Alexeeva	29	Riga
Lebanon	Aboul Hosn, MayaMaya Aboul Hosn	25	Btekhnay
Malaysia	Lee, SerenaSerena Lee	26	Kuala Lumpur
Malta	Portelli, EllaElla Portelli	25	St. Julian's
Mauritius	Beauharnais, TatianaTatiana Beauharnais	24	Souillac
Mexico	Flores, MelissaMelissa Flores	25	Venustiano Carranza
Mongolia	Batmagnai, NamuunzulNamuunzul Batmagnai	24	Ulaanbaatar
Myanmar	Bo, AmaraAmara Bo	23	Mandalay
Namibia	Uiras, JameelaJameela Uiras	23	Windhoek
Nepal	Garrett, JaneJane Garrett	23	Kathmandu
Netherlands	Kollé, RikkieRikkie Kollé	22	Breda
Nicaragua	Palacios, SheynnisSheynnis Palacios	23	Diriamba
Nigeria	Ihezue, UgochiUgochi Ihezue	27	Ideato North
Norway	Tollefsen, JulieJulie Tollefsen	28	Oslo
Pakistan	Robin, EricaErica Robin	25	Karachi
Panama	Vargas, NatashaNatasha Vargas	26	Las Tablas
Paraguay	Andrada, ElicenaElicena Andrada	28	Tobatí
Peru	Escribens, CamilaCamila Escribens	25	Lima
Philippines	Dee, MichelleMichelle Dee	28	Makati
Poland	Jurkowianiec, AngelikaAngelika Jurkowianiec	27	Namysłów
Portugal	Machete, MarinaMarina Machete	28	Palmela
Puerto Rico	Guilfú, KarlaKarla Guilfú	25	Patillas
Russia	Golubeva, MargaritaMargarita Golubeva	22	Saint Petersburg
Saint Lucia	Frederick, EarlycaEarlyca Frederick	25	Choiseul
Singapore	Annuncia, PriyankaPriyanka Annuncia	26	Singapore
Slovakia	Puhová, KingaKinga Puhová	23	Dunajská Streda
South Africa	Govender, BryoniBryoni Govender	27	Kempton Park
South Korea	Kim, So-yunSo-yun Kim	28	South Gyeongsang
Spain	Pérez, AtheneaAthenea Pérez	27	Murcia
Switzerland	Santen, LorenaLorena Santen	26	Aargau
Thailand	Porsild, AnntoniaAnntonia Porsild	27	Nakhon Ratchasima
Trinidad and Tobago	Gillezeau, FaithFaith Gillezeau	25	San Fernando
Ukraine	Usanova, AngelinaAngelina Usanova	26	Kyiv
United States	Voigt, NoeliaNoelia Voigt	24	Park City
Venezuela	Silva, DianaDiana Silva	26	Caracas
Vietnam	Hoa Bùi, QuỳnhQuỳnh Hoa Bùi	25	Hanoi
Zimbabwe	Bruk-Jackson, BrookeBrooke Bruk-Jackson	21	Harare

See also

In Spanish: Miss Universo 2023 para niños