A group of 86 beautiful women from nations across the world graced the 2013 Miss Universe competition that took place in Moscow Russia. Of those 86, the women were quickly narrowed down to groups of the top 16, 10 and lastly 5. A panel of 8 celebrated judges, including legendary rock star Steven Tyler and online voters in the United States helped narrow down the candidates. Online voters were able to use the “You be the judge” app. to help pick their favorites.
You'd have to put up one hell of an argument to dispute the the statement “women of Hispanic origin are currently at the forefront of every major platform.” The Hispanic contestants dominated every aspect of the competition from Nicaragua with best costume, to Venezuela taking the crown for the seventh time – the third time in six years. The top 16 included Costa Rica, Ukraine, China, Ecuador, Great Britain, Indonesia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA, Nicaragua, Switzerland, India, Brazil and the Philippines. Exactly half of the top 16 were Hispanic – including Brazil – which has had some Spanish influence throughout it's past. The same was true for the top 10, which included Spain, Philippines, Great Britain, India, Brazil, USA, Ukraine, Ecuador, Venezuela and Dominican Republic.
Miss Brazil is not just all beauty, she studies agricultural and environmental engineering, while Miss Costa Rica enjoys riding motorcycles. Both Great Britain and Miss Switzerland were the blonde bombshells of the night but Miss Switzerland wore her locks in a short cut, very reminiscent of pop-singer Miley Cyrus' new cut. At the beginning of the show, Host Thomas Roberts took a moment to dedicate the show to citizens of the Philippines in their time of need.
To many viewer's surprise – none of the popular Caribbean nations – such as, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Haiti or Aruba, made it through to the top 16. Trinidad and Tobago did manage to stun the blue-ribbon judges and win second place for the best costume. Japan, Indonesia and Russia were also among the winners for best traditional costume.
Miss Israel was a sight to see, her rich brown skin tone shocked many viewers and had us all linked to her every move. On Twitter there was a stirrup between those who questioned her Ethiopian origin and those who thought it really didn't matter. Miss Dominican Republic also had us enchanted with her natural beauty as she chose to dawn her natural curly locks for the entire show. She demanded our attention in every round, including the swimsuit segment where the contestants dawned stilettos provided by Chinese Laundry.
Ecuador, Brazil, Spain, Philippines and Venezuela were called out, in that order, to take their places front and center stage as the top 5. Miss Philippines stood out in a canary yellow dress, yellow is a symbol of celebration and joy in her country. Miss Great Britain wowed us in a fire red dress and Miss Ecuador wore the color of the season, mint green. Miss Venezuela took a chance being one of few contestants to wear a dress with sleeves. The question and answer portion of the show required two translators, a Portuguese and Spanish speaker. Viewers at home took to Twitter to complain about the quality of the translators and the fact that many of the contestants “didn't answer the questions” and used “vague clichés.” When asked what her fear was, and what she could do to over come it, Miss Venezuela responded: “We should overcome all our fears and this in turn would make us stronger. As soon as we overcome our fears, we can face any challenge.” However, in spite of all of the uproar, Miss Venezuela appeared to nail her Q&A.
The competition ended with Brazil as fourth runner-up, Philippines as third runner-up and Ecuador as second runner-up. As Miss Spain and Miss Venezuela stood hand in hand looking into each others eyes, host Mel B. announced Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler, as Miss Universe 2013.
You'd have to put up one hell of an argument to dispute the the statement “women of Hispanic origin are currently at the forefront of every major platform.” The Hispanic contestants dominated every aspect of the competition from Nicaragua with best costume, to Venezuela taking the crown for the seventh time – the third time in six years. The top 16 included Costa Rica, Ukraine, China, Ecuador, Great Britain, Indonesia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA, Nicaragua, Switzerland, India, Brazil and the Philippines. Exactly half of the top 16 were Hispanic – including Brazil – which has had some Spanish influence throughout it's past. The same was true for the top 10, which included Spain, Philippines, Great Britain, India, Brazil, USA, Ukraine, Ecuador, Venezuela and Dominican Republic.
Miss Brazil is not just all beauty, she studies agricultural and environmental engineering, while Miss Costa Rica enjoys riding motorcycles. Both Great Britain and Miss Switzerland were the blonde bombshells of the night but Miss Switzerland wore her locks in a short cut, very reminiscent of pop-singer Miley Cyrus' new cut. At the beginning of the show, Host Thomas Roberts took a moment to dedicate the show to citizens of the Philippines in their time of need.
To many viewer's surprise – none of the popular Caribbean nations – such as, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Haiti or Aruba, made it through to the top 16. Trinidad and Tobago did manage to stun the blue-ribbon judges and win second place for the best costume. Japan, Indonesia and Russia were also among the winners for best traditional costume.
Miss Israel was a sight to see, her rich brown skin tone shocked many viewers and had us all linked to her every move. On Twitter there was a stirrup between those who questioned her Ethiopian origin and those who thought it really didn't matter. Miss Dominican Republic also had us enchanted with her natural beauty as she chose to dawn her natural curly locks for the entire show. She demanded our attention in every round, including the swimsuit segment where the contestants dawned stilettos provided by Chinese Laundry.
Ecuador, Brazil, Spain, Philippines and Venezuela were called out, in that order, to take their places front and center stage as the top 5. Miss Philippines stood out in a canary yellow dress, yellow is a symbol of celebration and joy in her country. Miss Great Britain wowed us in a fire red dress and Miss Ecuador wore the color of the season, mint green. Miss Venezuela took a chance being one of few contestants to wear a dress with sleeves. The question and answer portion of the show required two translators, a Portuguese and Spanish speaker. Viewers at home took to Twitter to complain about the quality of the translators and the fact that many of the contestants “didn't answer the questions” and used “vague clichés.” When asked what her fear was, and what she could do to over come it, Miss Venezuela responded: “We should overcome all our fears and this in turn would make us stronger. As soon as we overcome our fears, we can face any challenge.” However, in spite of all of the uproar, Miss Venezuela appeared to nail her Q&A.
The competition ended with Brazil as fourth runner-up, Philippines as third runner-up and Ecuador as second runner-up. As Miss Spain and Miss Venezuela stood hand in hand looking into each others eyes, host Mel B. announced Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler, as Miss Universe 2013.