Miss Universe 2009 was the 58th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Imperial Ballroom in Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, the Bahamas, on August 23, 2009.
At the end of the event, Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela crowned Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela as Miss Universe 2009. This marks the first time in Miss Universe history that a country has won twice consecutively.
Contestants from 83 countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Billy Bush and Claudia Jordan; Bush last served as host during Miss Universe 2005. Heidi Montag, Flo Rida, Kelly Rowland, and David Guetta performed in this year's pageant.
The competition also featured the debut of the new Diamond Nexus Crown. For the first time ever, fans are able to vote between three designs for the new crown. The fans voted for the Peace crown, which is set with 1,371 gemstones, weighing a total of 416.09 carats or 83.218 g. It is made with an alloy that contains 544.31 grams of 14k and 18k white gold as well as platinum. The crown also featured synthetic rubies to represent the main advocacy of Miss Universe which is HIV/AIDS education and awareness. It is considered to be an eco-friendly crown due to its synthetic stone materials.
Background
Location and date Donald Trump, president of the Miss Universe Organization, had intentions on holding the 2009 pageant in Dubai. However, the negotiations did not materialize due to the political instability regarding relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel and also for religious reasons. Croatia was also interested in hosting the 2009 pageant. However, the country withdrew its bid to host the contest due to economic problems related to the current global economic crisis.
On July 1, 2008, investor Jonathan Westbrook tried launched a bid for Australia to host the 2009 edition of the pageant. However, his efforts were in vain as the possible venues were not interested. Eventually, on March 3, 2009, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the competition would be at the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, The Bahamas. The pageant would initially take place on August 25, however, the contest was moved to August 23, 2009.
Selection of participants Contestants from eighty-three countries and territories were selected to compete in the competition. Four of these delegates were appointees to their positions after being a runner-up of their national pageant or being selected through a casting process, while another was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Angenie Simon, the first runner-up of Miss Curaçao 2009, was appointed to represent Curaçao after Ashanta Macauly, Miss Curaçao 2009, withdrew due to unknown health problems. Bélgica Suárez, the runner-up of Miss Honduras 2008, was appointed to represent Honduras at Miss Universe due to the political crisis in Honduras. Võ Hoàng Yến, the first runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, was appointed as Miss Universe Vietnam 2009 by UNICorp, the franchise holder of Miss Universe in Vietnam.
The 2009 edition saw the returns of Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Guyana, Iceland, Lebanon, Namibia, Romania, Sweden, and Zambia. Romania last competed in 1998, Ethiopia, Iceland, Namibia, and Sweden last competed in 2006, while the others last competed in 2007. Antigua and Barbuda, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos withdrew. Olga Nikitina of Kazakhstan withdrew due to lack of sponsorship, while Faith Landers of Sri Lanka withdrew due to undisclosed reasons. Jewel Selver of Turks and Caicos withdrew from the competition 24 hours before the final due to dehydration. However, Selver was still included at the parade of nations at the beginning of the final telecast. Antigua and Barbuda, Denmark, and Trinidad and Tobago withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Diana Niles of Luxembourg was set to compete at Miss Universe. However, Niles withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
Sorene Maratita of the Northern Mariana Islands was also set to compete at Miss Universe. However, Maratita withdrew due to lack of sponsorship and funding.
Incidents before the pageant On August 1, 2009 Bolivian officials stated that it could present a legal challenge to the organizers of Miss Universe due to the planned use of a typical Diablada costume by the Peruvian candidate Karen Schwarz. Pablo Groux, Bolivian minister of Culture, said that any use of the costume by Schwarz in the contest would be an unlawful appropriation of Bolivian heritage and threatened to bring the case to the International Court of Justice. El Comercio, a Peruvian newspaper, mentioned that this is not the first time the diablada costume is shown in the contest and that it was María Josefa Isensee, a Chilean, that first used it in the Miss Universe contest. The Peruvian foreign minister José Antonio García Belaúnde said that since the diablada dress is of indigenous Aymara origin it can not be considered exclusive of any of the countries where Aymaras lives.UNESCO has declared the Diablada a symbol of Bolivia and the department of Oruro, Bolivia.Perú y Bolivia incluyen a Chile en disputa por traje de Diablada El MercurioBolivia rechaza que representante peruana en Miss Universo use traje de la "Diablada" El Mercurio
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2009 – Stefanía Fernández 1st Runner-Up – Ada de la Cruz 2nd Runner-Up – Marigona Dragusha 3rd Runner-Up – Rachael Finch 4th Runner-Up – Mayra Matos Top 10 – Iveta Lutovská – Chloé Mortaud – Tatum Keshwar – Whitney Toyloy – Kristen Dalton Top 15 – Hasna Xhukiçi – Zeynep Sever – Sarah Ćosić – Ingibjörg Egilsdóttir – Renate Cerljen
Final scores Winner1st Runner-up2nd Runner-up3rd Runner-up4th Runner-upTop 10Top 15 Country/Territory Swimsuit Evening Gown8.760 (4)8.869 (5)9.189 (2)9.428 (1)8.790 (3)9.250 (2)9.264 (1)9.039 (4)8.533 (7)9.050 (3)8.640 (5)8.650 (6)8.460 (8) 8.040 (7)8.350 (9)8.010 (8)8.611 (6)7.890 (9)8.060 (10)7.550 (10) 7.900 (11) 7.870 (12) 7.830 (13) 7.811 (14) 7.730 (15)
Special awards Award ContestantMiss Congeniality – Wang JingyaoMiss Photogenic – Chutima Durongdej
Best National Costume Final results ContestantWinner – Diana Broce2nd Place – Indiana Sánchez3rd Place – Chutima Durongdej
Pageant Format Same with 2007, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The fifteen semi-finalists competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to ten afterward. The ten semi-finalists competed in the evening gown competition and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final look.
Selection committee
Preliminary competition Mark Wylie – Best Buddies Talent Executive Adriana Ching – Licensed attorney and a former real estate developer avid philanthropist Todd Winston – Veteran of the hospitality industry and Vice President of Sales at Creative Promotional Rosalina Lydster – Fashion designer for celebrities Tiza Tjokroadisumarto – Director of Retail Operations for Michael Kors Corinne Nicolas – President of Trump Model Management David Friedman – Last Call with Carson Daly Executive Producer Steven Schillaci – Talent Producer for many hit shows including American Idol Mario Mosley – Hollywood Choreographer of Oxygen's Dance Your Ass Off Sarah Markantonis – Ambassador of Kerzner International Bahamas
Final telecast Dean Cain – Actor and producer Tamara Tunie – Actress, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Colin Cowie – Author, Television Personality and Designer to the Stars Valeria Mazza – International Supermodel Matthew Rolston – Leading Photographer and director Richard LeFrak – Chairperson, President and CEO LeFrak Organization André Leon Talley – Award-winning Writer and editor Heather Kerzner – Philanthropist and Ambassador for Kerzner International and Resorts Farouk Shami – Founder and Chairman of CHI Hair Care Keisha Whitaker – Fashion Maven and Founder of the Kissable Couture Lip Gloss line Gerry DeVeaux – Award-winning Producer, Songwriter and Style Guru George J. Maloof, Jr. – Professional Sports Mogul and Hotelier
Contestants Eighty-three contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Albania 21 Fier Nelsa Alves 22 Luanda Johanna Lasic 23 Buenos Aires Dianne Croes 22 Oranjestad Rachael Finch 21 Townsville Kiara Sherman 26 Freeport Zeynep Sever 20 Brussels Dominique Peltier 22 Cochabamba Larissa Costa 25 São Gonçalo Do Amarante Elitsa Lubenova 19 Dve Mogili Mariana Valente 23 Richmond Hill Nicosia Lawson 26 George Town Wang Jingyao 18 Qingdao Michelle Rouillard 22 Popayán Jessica Umaña 21 Moravia Sarah Ćosić 20 Split Angenie Simon 24 Willemstad Kielia Giasemidou 20 Nicosia Iveta Lutovská 26 Třeboň Ada de la Cruz 23 Villa Mella Sandra Vinces 19 Portoviejo Elham Wagdy 26 Cairo Mayella Mena 21 San Salvador Diana Arno 25 Tallinn Melat Yante 19 Addis Ababa Essi Pöysti 22 Jyväskylä Chloé Mortaud 19 Bénac Lika Ordzhonikidze 19 Tbilisi Martina Lee 24 Meinerzhagen Jennifer Koranteng 23 Accra Clair Cooper 27 London Viviana Zagorianakou Campanile 19 Athens Racine Manley 24 Dededo Lourdes Figueroa 21 Guatemala City Jenel Cox 19 Georgetown Bélgica Suárez 23 Tegucigalpa Suzann Budai 21 Budapest Ingibjörg Egilsdóttir 24 Eastern Region Ekta Chowdhry 23 New Delhi Zivanna Letisha Siregar 20 Jakarta Diana Donnelly 20 Dublin Julia Dyment 20 Haifa Laura Valenti 25 Arezzo Carolyn Yapp 25 Montego Bay Emiri Miyasaka 25 Tokyo Marigona Dragusha 18 Pristina Martine Andraos 19 Byblos Joannabelle Ng 21 Kota Kinabalu Anaïs Veerapatren 23 Curepipe Karla Carrillo 21 Guadalajara Anja Jovanović 20 Podgorica Happie Ntelamo 20 Katima Mulilo Avalon-Chanel Weyzig 19 Zwolle Katie Taylor 22 Auckland Indiana Sánchez 22 Managua Sandra Otohwo 20 Asaba Eli Landa 25 Stavanger Diana Broce 23 Las Tablas Mareike Baumgarten 19 Asunción Karen Schwarz 25 Lima Bianca Manalo 21 Manila Angelika Jakubowska 20 Lubań Mayra Matos 20 Cabo Rojo Elena Bianca Constantin 20 Piatra-Neamt Sofia Rudieva 18 Saint Petersburg Dragana Atlija 22 Belgrade Rachel Kum 24 Singapore Denisa Mendrejová 23 Bratislava Mirela Korač 22 Ljubljana Tatum Keshwar 25 DurbanNa Ry23Seoul Estíbaliz Pereira 23 Santiago de Compostela Renate Cerljen 21 Staffanstorp Whitney Toyloy 19 Yverdon Illuminata James 24 Mwanza Chutima Durongdej 23 Bangkok Senem Kuyucuoğlu 18 İzmir Khrystyna Kots-Hotlib 26 Donetsk Kristen Dalton 22 Wilmington Cintia D'ottone 21 Montevideo Stefanía Fernández 18 Mérida Võ Hoàng Yến 21 Ho Chi Minh City Andella Chileshe Matthews 21 Ndola
Notes
References
External links Official website