Miss Universe 2007
Miss Universe 2007, the 56th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 28 May 2007 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico. Riyo Mori from Japan was crowned by Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as her successor at the end of the event. This is Japan's only second win at Miss Universe, and the only second time that Asia has won Miss Universe in the 21st century. 77 contestants competed in this year.
Results
Placements
Order of announcements
Top 15
- Venezuela
- Thailand
- Denmark
- Nicaragua
- Angola
- Slovenia
- USA
- Brazil
- India
- Mexico
- Japan
- Ukraine
- Tanzania
- Korea
- Czech Republic
Top 10
- Brazil
- India
- Japan
- Angola
- Venezuela
- USA
- Korea
- Tanzania
- Nicaragua
- Mexico
Top 5
- Venezuela
- Korea
- Brazil
- USA
- Japan
Contestants
- ' – Sadina Alla
- ' – Micaela Reis
- ' – Stephanie Winter
- ' – Daniela Stucan
- ' – Carolina Raven
- ' – Kimberley Busteed
- ' – Trinere Lynes
- ' – Jewel Garner
- ' – Annelien Coorevits
- ' – Maria Jeffery
- ' – Jessica Jordan
- ' – Natália Guimarães
- ' – Gergana Kochanova
- ' – Inga Skaya
- ' – Zhang Ningning
- ' – Eileen Roca
- ' – Veronica González
- ' – Jelena Maros
- ' – Naemi Monte
- ' – Polyvia Achilleos
- ' – Lucie Hadasová
- ' – Žaklina Šojić
- ' – Massiel Taveras
- ' – Lugina Cabezas
- ' – Ehsan Hatem
- ' – Lissette Rodríguez
- ' – Viktoria Azovskaja
- ' – Noora Hautakangas
- ' – Rachel Legrain-Trapani
- ' – Ana Giorgelashvili
- ' – Angelina Glass
- ' – Doukissa Nomikou
- ' – Alida Boer
- ' – Meleesea Payne
- ' – Wendy Salgado
- ' – Ildikó Bóna
- ' – Puja Gupta
- ' – Agni Pratistha
- ' – Sharon Kenett
- ' – Valentina Massi
- ' – Zahra Redwood
- ' – Riyo Mori
- ' – Gaukhar Rakhmetaliyeva
- ' – Lee Ha-nui
- ' – Nadine Njeim
- ' – Adelaine Chin
- ' – Sandra Faro
- ' – Rosa María Ojeda
- ' – Snežana Bušković
- ' – Laural Barrett
- ' – Xiomara Blandino
- ' – Ebinabo Potts-Johnson
- ' – Kirby Ann Basken
- ' – Sorangel Matos
- ' – María José Maldonado
- ' – Jimena Elías
- ' – Anna Theresa Licaros
- ' – Dorota Gawron
- ' – Wilmadilis "Uma" Blasini
- ' – Tatiana Kotova
- ' – Teodora Marčić
- ' – Jessica Tan
- ' – Lucia Senášiová
- ' – Tjaša Kokalj
- ' – Megan Coleman
- ' – Natalia Zabala
- ' – Yoanna Henry
- ' – Christa Rigozzi
- ' – Flaviana Matata
- ' – Farung Yuthithum
- ' – Saneita Been
- ' – Lyudmila Bikmullina
- ' – Giannina Silva
- ' – Rachel Smith
- ' – Renata Christian
- ' – Ly Jonaitis
- – Rosemary Chileshe
Judges
Final telecast
The following celebrities judged the final competition. Christiane Martel was added as a judge the day prior to the final competition.- Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys quarterback
- James Kyson Lee – actor on Heroes
- Nina Garcia – Project Runway judge and Elle magazine fashion director
- Dave Navarro – rock star
- Dayanara Torres – Miss Universe 1993 from Puerto Rico
- Natalie Glebova – Miss Universe 2005 from Canada
- Mauricio Islas – Mexican actor
- Lindsay Clubine – Deal or No Deal briefcase model
- Marc Bouwer – fashion designer
- Christiane Martel – Miss Universe 1953 from France
- Michelle Kwan – World champion, 1998 Olympic silver medalist, and 2002 Olympic figure skating bronze medalist
- Lydia Davis – Writer and translator. Winner of the 2003 French-American Foundation Translation Prize from United States of America
Debuts
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- ' attended for the first time, after split from the former Serbia and Montenegro
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Returns
- Last competed in 2002:
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- Last competed in 2005:
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Replacements
- – Melody Selvon was only 16 years old. Rules state that all Miss Universe contestants must be over the age of 18 and Selvon was replaced by first runner-up, Sandra Faro.
Withdrawals
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- ' – Aruni Rajapaksha was expected to represent Sri Lanka in the pageant, but did not compete. She went on to participate in Miss Universe 2008 a year later instead.
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Awards
- ' - Miss Congeniality
- ' - Miss Photogenic
Areas of competition
Prior to the final telecast, all contestants competed in swimsuit and evening gown during the preliminary competition. They also participated in interviews with the judges.During the final competition, the top fifteen contestants competed in the swimsuit competition, and the top ten competed in evening gown. The final five contestants participated in a final round of on-stage interviews, before the runners-up were announced and the new Miss Universe named.
This was the first year since 2002 that the judges' average scores were shown on television.
It was the first time since 2001 that the final question posed on the ladies came from the judges. The previous pageants had final questions coming from the current Miss Universe and the delegates participating in the final five themselves.
National costume controversy
- – In April 2007, controversy erupted over the proposed national costume of Rosa María Ojeda, Miss Mexico. The skirt of the costume depicted scenes from the Cristero War, a Roman Catholic rebellion in the 1920s in which thousands of people were killed, including hangings. The outfit included a bullet-studded belt and crucifix necklace. The design was chosen from over thirty others and had been intended to show Mexico's culture and history, but it elicited controversy amid claims it was in poor taste and inappropriate. Pageant owners said that the costume would be redesigned to include image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
General references