Miss Universe 2006

Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006.

At the conclusion of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss Universe 2006. It is Puerto Rico's fifth victory in the pageant's history. After the show, Rivera passed out due to the weight of her dress but quickly recovered.

Contestants from eighty-six countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of 84 contestants in 1999. The pageant was hosted by Carlos Ponce and Nancy O'Dell, with Queer Eye's Carson Kressley and Miss USA 2004 Shandi Finnessey providing commentary and analysis throughout the event. American singer-rapper Chelo and Italian operatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo performed in this year's pageant.

Background

Location and date Due to the lack of interest of several cities from hosting the pageant, the Miss Universe Organization decided to hold the pageant in July instead of May. The Miss Universe Organization confirmed that the 2006 edition will be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on July 23, 2006. It is the first time in eight years that pageant took place in the United States. The last time that the United States hosted the pageant was in 1998 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Selection of participants Contestants from eighty-six countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Three contestants were appointed to their position after being a runner-up of their national pageant, or to replace the original dethroned winner.

Replacements Suada Sherfi, Miss Albania 2005, was supposed to represent her country at Miss Universe. However, Sherfi withdrew after declining the request of photographer Fadil Berisha to reduce the size of her nose. Sherfi was replaced by Eralda Hitaj. Gao Ying Hui, the first runner-up of Miss Universe China 2006, was appointed to represent China at Miss Universe after Qi Fang, Miss Universe China 2006, was dethroned after violating the rules in her contract.

Debuts, returns and withdrawals This edition marked the debut of Kazakhstan, and the returns of Argentina, the Cayman Islands, Estonia, Ghana, Iceland, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, and Sweden. Saint Lucia last competed in 1977; Iceland last competed in 1997; Sint Maarten last competed in 2000; the Northern Mariana Islands last competed in 2002; Argentina and New Zealand last competed in 2003; while the others last competed in 2004. Barbados, Belize, Curaçao, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Vietnam withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Silva Shahakian of Iraq was set to compete at Miss Universe. However, Shahakian withdrew after hiding from Islamic militants who reportedly threatened to kill her along with other contestants who competed in the Miss Iraq pageant.

Results

Placements

Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2006 – Zuleyka Rivera 1st Runner-Up – Kurara Chibana 2nd Runner-Up – Lauriane Gilliéron 3rd Runner-Up – Lourdes Arévalos 4th Runner-Up – Tara Conner Top 10 – Desirée Durán – Alice Panikian – Valerie Domínguez – Priscila Perales – Kenisha Thom Top 20 – Magalí Romitelli – Rafaela Zanella – Betina Faurbye – Dina Fekadu – Adrienn Bende – Neha Kapur – Anna Litvinova – Josephine Alhanko – Charm Osathanond – Inna Tsymbalyuk

Special awards Award Contestant Miss Congeniality – Angela AsareMiss Photogenic – Lia RamosBest National Costume – Kurara Chibana

Pageant

Format The Miss Universe Organization introduced several specific changes to the format for this edition. The number of semifinalists was increased to 20 instead of the traditional 15. This is due to the host city not paying for the promotion, which spared the telecast by seven minutes. 20 semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The top 20 competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to the top 10 afterward. The top 10 competed in the evening gown competition and were narrowed down to the top 5 afterward.

Selection committee

Final telecast James Lesure – Actor from NBC's Las Vegas Claudia Jordan – Model for Deal or No Deal; former Miss Rhode Island USA and Miss Rhode Island Teen USA Sean Yazbeck – Winner of season 5 of The Apprentice Amelia Vega – Miss Universe 2003 from Dominican Republic Emmitt Smith – Former Dallas Cowboys player and Dancing with the Stars winner Marc Cherry – American writer and producer Tom Green – Actor and comedian María Celeste Arrarás – Telemundo host Patrick McMullan – Fashion photographer Bridgette Wilson – Miss Teen USA 1990 from Oregon Santino Rice – Project Runway finalist

Note: Actress Bo Derek was scheduled to be a judge but was later replaced.

Contestants Eighty-six contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Albania 19 Tirana AngolaIsménia Júnior22Cabinda Antigua and BarbudaShari McEwan18Ottos ArgentinaMagalí Romitelli18Villa María ArubaMelissa Laclé20Santa Cruz AustraliaErin McNaught24Brisbane BahamasSamantha Carter24Nassau BelgiumTatiana Silva21Brussels BoliviaDesiree Durán20Santa Cruz BrazilRafaela Zanella19Santa Maria BulgariaGalena Dimova24Sofia CanadaAlice Panikian20Toronto Cayman IslandsAmbuyah Ebanks21West Bay ChileBelén Montilla23Santiago ChinaGao Ying Hui23Harbin ColombiaValerie Domínguez25Barranquilla Costa RicaFabriella Quesada22Colón CroatiaBiljana Mančić20Split CyprusElena Ierodiakonou22Kalymnos Czech RepublicRenata Langmannová19Ivanovice na Hané DenmarkBetina Faurbye24Copenhagen Dominican RepublicMía Taveras20Santo Domingo EcuadorCatalina López23Guayaquil EgyptFawzia Mohamed23Cairo El SalvadorRebeca Iraheta18San Salvador EstoniaKirke Klemmer22Tallinn EthiopiaDina Fekadu21Wollega FinlandNinni Laaksonen20Helsinki FranceAlexandra Rosenfeld19Languedoc GeorgiaEkaterine Buadze20Tbilisi GermanyNatalie Ackermann26Wesel GhanaAngela Asare20Accra GreeceOlympia Chopsonidou23Thessaloniki GuatemalaJackelinne Piccinini22Mazatenango GuyanaAlana Ernest19Mahdia HungaryAdrienn Bende21Budapest IcelandSif Aradóttir21Keflavík IndiaNeha Kapur23New Delhi IndonesiaNadine Chandrawinata21Jakarta IrelandMelanie Boreham19Drumbeg IsraelAnastacia Entin21Tel Aviv JamaicaCindy Wright20Stony Hill JapanKurara Chibana24Naha KazakhstanDina Nuraliyeva21Shymkent LatviaSanita Kubliņa22Sigulda LebanonGabrielle Bou Rached20Beirut MalaysiaMelissa Tan25Petaling Jaya MauritiusIsabelle Antoo25Beau Bassin-Rose Hill MexicoPriscila Perales23Monterrey NamibiaAnna Nashandi22Windhoek New ZealandElizabeth Gray23Auckland NicaraguaCristiana Frixione22Managua NigeriaTienepre Oki21Warri Northern Mariana IslandsShequita Bennett19Kagman NorwayMartine Jonassen19Tjøme PanamaMaría Alessandra Mezquita22Panama City ParaguayLourdes Arévalos22San Lorenzo PeruFiorella Viñas22Lima PhilippinesLia Ramos25Davao City PolandFrancys Sudnicka26Masovia Puerto RicoZuleyka Rivera18Salinas RussiaAnna Litvinova24Kemerovo Oblast Saint LuciaSascha Andrew-Rose20Rodney Bay Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesShivern Peters21Bequia Serbia and MontenegroNada Milinić18Tivat SingaporeCarol Cheong25Singapore Sint MaartenGisella Hilliman19South Reward Hill SlovakiaJudita Hrubyová20Bardejov SloveniaNataša Pinoza22Sevnica South AfricaNokuthula Sithole22Gauteng South KoreaKim Joo-hee25Seoul SpainElisabeth Reyes21Málaga Sri LankaJacqueline Fernandez20Colombo SwedenJosephine Alhanko25Stockholm SwitzerlandLauriane Gilliéron21Prilly ThailandCharm Osathanond19Nonthaburi Trinidad and TobagoKenisha Thom22Tunapuna–Piarco TurkeyCeyla Kirazlı20İzmir Turks and Caicos IslandsShaveena Been24Grand Turk UkraineInna Tsymbalyuk21Chernivtsi United KingdomJulie Doherty18Manchester United StatesTara Conner20Russell Springs United States Virgin IslandsJeT'aime Cerge22Saint Thomas UruguayFatimih Dávila18La Cormilla VenezuelaJictzad Viña23Carúpano ZambiaMofya Chisenga23Mufulira

Notes

References

External links Miss Universe official website