Photos from AFP/Miss Universe Organization During the early years of the Miss Universe Pageant, the national costumes were mostly wearable traditional dresses that highlighted the countries’ rich history and culture. As the pageant grew bigger and the competition, stiffer, the national costumes became more extravagant as a way to be noticed. But it wasn’t until […]

In the Olympics, an athlete must first survive the qualifying rounds in order to get the chance to perform in the all-important finals. The agony of defeat for many athletes is failing to qualify after years of training, hard work, and discipline. In the Miss Universe pageant, candidates must compete in the all-important Preliminary Competition […]

UNCONVENTIONAL GOWNS. These ladies won the Miss Universe pageant after wearing unconventional evening gowns. All photos from AFP On fashion design reality shows, judges often use the term “pageant” to describe gowns that are overly embellished, borderline tacky, and not in tune with current trends. In beauty pageants, however, selecting an evening gown focuses on […]

FIRST RUNNER-UP. Miss USA, Olivia Culpo (R), reacts beside Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon (L), after being named Miss Universe 2012 during the Miss Universe Pageant at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP Photo Around the world, women who dream of becoming Miss Universe train all their lives, sacrifice so much, and join […]

From the funniest – ‘I would eat everything twice’ – to the most profound, here are a few great Miss Universe pageant answers throughout history MOST MEMORABLE ANSWERS. Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen delivered one of the most profound answers in Miss Universe history. File photo shows Sushmita (L), representing India at the 1994 Miss […]

BACK-TO-BACK. Can Maxine Medina win the Miss Universe crown for the Philippines again? File photo shows Pia Wurtzbach crowning Maxine Miss Universe Philippines 2016. Photo by Alecs Ongcal/Rappler Miss Universe Philippines 2016, Maxine Medina, will be competing in the 65th edition of Miss Universe on January 30, 2017. The question on people’s minds is, can […]

Miss Universe is changing its format. WME/IMG, the world’s biggest talent and entertainment agency, purchased the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA Pageants from Donald Trump last year. However, the pageant was set to be held too close to the time of acquisition that the agency could not implement the changes. Pageant fans have […]