Miss Universe 2015
Miss Universe 2015, the 64th Miss Universe pageant, was held on December 20, 2015 at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Paulina Vega of Colombia crowned her successor Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines at the end of the event. After 42 years, this is the third time the Philippines won Miss Universe, after Margarita Moran in 1973. 80 contestants competed for the crown.
This was the first edition of the Miss Universe pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which purchased the Miss Universe Organization from Donald Trump on September 14, 2015, three days after NBCUniversal sold him its 50% interest in the organization in exchange for Trump's dropping a breach of contract lawsuit he filed against the media company in August for terminating NBC's contract to televise the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. Consequently, it is also the first Miss Universe event to be aired by Fox and Azteca, which replaced NBC and UniMás as the pageant's respective English and Spanish broadcasters. The latter networks terminated their rights to the pageant in response to statements about Mexican immigrants made by Trump during a speech on June 16.
The broadcast received worldwide media attention due to an error made regarding the winner. Host Steve Harvey initially announced Ariadna Gutiérrez of Colombia as the new Miss Universe. After she was crowned, Harvey returned to the stage and apologized, stating that Gutiérrez was in fact the 1st runner-up and Wurtzbach was the winner. He later stated that he had been confused when reading the winner's name because both names were on the card and he only noticed the "1st" by Colombia's name.
Results
| Final results | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 2015 |
|
| 1st Runner-Up | |
| 2nd Runner-Up | |
| Top 5 | |
| Top 10 | |
| Top 15 |
Order of announcements
Top 15
- Brazil
- Australia
- Indonesia
- Dominican Republic
- Philippines
- France
- United States
- Curaçao
- Belgium
- Japan
- Venezuela
- South Africa
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Thailand
Top 10
- United States
- Colombia
- Japan
- Thailand
- Australia
- Dominican Republic
- France
- Curaçao
- Philippines
- Venezuela
Top 5
- France
- Colombia
- Philippines
- Australia
- United States
Top 3
- United States
- Colombia
- Philippines
Background music
- Opening: "Beautiful Now" by Zedd featuring Jon Bellion, "Lean On" by Major Lazer & DJ Snake featuring MØ, "Cheerleader" by Omi
- Swimsuit Competition: "Marvin Gaye", "One Call Away" and "Some Type of Love" by Charlie Puth
- Evening Gown Competition: "Live Forever" and "Done" by The Band Perry
- Final Look: "Every Time I'm with You", "Kiss from a Rose" and "Crazy" by Seal
Judges
Preliminary competition
- Erika Albies – Vice President of Global Fashion Communications at IMG
- Erin Brady – Miss USA 2013 from Connecticut
- Julio Caro – Independent film and television producer and talent manager
- Keiko Uraguchi – Director of Digital Partnerships for WME/IMG
- Nischelle Turner– Correspondent for Emmy Award-winning Entertainment Tonight
- Rocky Motwani – Entrepreneur who recently co-founded his first fintech company, Jiko Services
- Zak Soreff – Entertainment marketing expert
Final telecast
- Emmitt Smith – Former college and professional football player
- Niecy Nash – Emmy Award-nominated actress
- Olivia Culpo – Miss Universe 2012 from United States
- Perez Hilton – Blogger, columnist and television personality
Contestants
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Height | Hometown |
 Albania | Megi Luka | 19 | 5'10" | Fushë-Krujë |
 Angola | Whitney Shikongo | 20 | 5'11" | Huíla |
 Argentina | Claudia Barrionuevo | 24 | 5'8" | Salta |
 Aruba | Alysha Boekhoudt | 21 | 5'7" | Oranjestad |
 Australia | Monika Radulovic | 25 | 5'9" | Sydney |
 Austria | Amina Dagi | 20 | 5'9" | Vienna |
 Bahamas | Toria Nichole | 27 | 6'1" | Nassau |
 Belgium | Annelies Törös | 20 | 5'10" | Antwerp |
 Bolivia | Romina Rocamonje | 23 | 5'7" | Beni |
 Brazil | Marthina Brandt | 23 | 5'10" | Vale Real |
 British Virgin Islands | Adorya Rocio Baly | 22 | 5'8" | Tortola |
 Bulgaria | Radostina Todorova | 20 | 5'9" | Vratsa |
 Canada | Paola Nunez | 24 | 5'7" | Toronto |
 Cayman Islands | Tonie Chisholm | 27 | 5'7" | Grand Cayman |
 Chile | María Belén Jerez | 25 | 5'10" | Viña del Mar |
 China | Xue Yunfang | 21 | 5'7" | Shenzhen |
 Colombia | Ariadna Gutiérrez | 21 | 5'10" | Sincelejo |
 Costa Rica | Brenda Castro | 23 | 5'6" | Limón |
 Croatia | Mirta Kuštan | 22 | 5'10" | Krapinske Toplice |
 Curaçao | Kanisha Sluis | 19 | 5'11 | Willemstad |
 Czech Republic | Nikol Švantnerová | 23 | 5'11" | Šumperk |
 Denmark | Cecilie Wellemberg | 21 | 5'9" | Copenhagen |
 Dominican Republic | Clarissa Molina | 24 | 5'9" | Moca |
 Ecuador | Francesca Cipriani | 23 | 5'7" | Guayaquil |
 El Salvador | Idubina Rivas | 22 | 5'8" | San Salvador |
 Finland | Rosa-Maria Ryyti | 21 | 5'10" | Helsinki |
 France | Flora Coquerel | 21 | 6'0" | Orléanais |
 Gabon | Ornella Obone | 19 | 5'8" | Oyem |
 Georgia | Janet Kerdikoshvili | 24 | 5'9" | Tbilisi |
 Germany | Sarah Lorraine | 23 | 5'8" | Munich |
 Ghana | Hilda Akua | 26 | 5'8" | Kumasi |
 Great Britain | Nena France | 25 | 5'9" | London |
 Greece | Mikaela-Eleni Fotiadi | 21 | 5'10" | Athens |
 Guatemala | Jeimmy Aburto | 21 | 5'7" | Guatemala City |
 Guyana | Shauna Ramdyhan | 25 | 5'8" | Georgetown |
 Haiti | Lisa Drouillard | 23 | 5'7" | Port-au-Prince |
 Honduras | Iroshka Elvir | 24 | 5'10" | Choluteca |
 Hungary | Nikoletta Nagy | 21 | 5'5" | Miskolc |
 India | Urvashi Rautela | 21 | 5'8" | Mumbai |
 Indonesia | Anindya Kusuma Putri | 23 | 5'9" | Semarang |
 Ireland | Joanna Cooper | 21 | 5'5" | Derry |
 Israel | Avigail Alfatov | 19 | 5'6" | Acre |
 Italy | Giada Pezzaioli | 22 | 5'10" | Montichiari |
 Jamaica | Sharlene Rädlein | 25 | 5'9" | Kingston |
 Japan | Ariana Miyamoto | 21 | 5'8" | Nagasaki |
 Korea | Seoyeon Kim | 23 | 5'7" | Seoul |
 Kosovo | Mirjeta Shala | 21 | 5'11" | Vučitrn |
 Lebanon | Cynthia Samuel | 20 | 5'7" | Beirut |
 Malaysia | Vanessa Tevi Kumares | 24 | 5'8" | Seremban |
 Mauritius | Sheetal Khadun | 26 | 5'7" | Rose-Hill |
 Mexico | Wendolly Esparza | 24 | 5'8" | Aguascalientes |
 Montenegro | Maja Čukić | 20 | 6'0" | Podgorica |
 Myanmar | May Barani Thaw | 25 | 5'6" | Yangon |
 Netherlands | Jessie Jazz Vuijk | 20 | 5'9" | Amsterdam |
 New Zealand | Samantha McClung | 20 | 5'10" | Christchurch |
 Nicaragua | Daniela Torres | 25 | 5'7" | Managua |
 Nigeria | Debbie Collins | 23 | 5'8" | Lagos |
 Norway | Martine Rødseth | 24 | 5'6" | Nord-Odal |
 Panama | Gladys Brandao Amaya | 24 | 5'5" | Los Santos |
 Paraguay | Myriam Arévalos | 22 | 5'10" | Asunción |
 Peru | Laura Spoya | 24 | 5'7" | Lima |
 Philippines | Pia Wurtzbach | 26 | 5'8" | Cagayan de Oro |
 Poland | Weronika Szmajdzińska | 21 | 5'8" | Szczecin |
 Portugal | Emília Araújo | 24 | 5'9" | Angra do Heroísmo |
 Puerto Rico | Catalina Morales | 25 | 5'9" | Guaynabo |
 Russia | Vladislava Evtushenko | 19 | 5'9" | Chita |
 Serbia | Daša Radosavljević | 19 | 5'5" | Kragujevac |
 Singapore | Lisa Marie White | 22 | 5'7" | Singapore |
 Slovak Republic | Denisa Vyšňovská | 21 | 5'9" | Prievidza |
 South Africa | Refilwe Mthimunye | 24 | 5'8" | Bronkhorstspruit |
 Spain | Carla García | 25 | 5'10" | Las Palmas |
 Sweden | Paulina Brodd | 21 | 5'9" | Stockholm |
 Tanzania | Lorraine Marriot | 21 | 5'9" | Dar es Salaam |
 Thailand | Aniporn Chalermburanawong | 21 | 5'9" | Lampang |
 Turkey | Aslı Melisa Uzun | 20 | 5'7" | Ankara |
 Ukraine | Anna Vergelskaya | 27 | 5'7" | Kiev |
 Uruguay | Bianca Sánchez | 19 | 5'10" | Montevideo |
 United States | Olivia Jordan | 27 | 5'11" | Tulsa |
 Venezuela | Mariana Jiménez | 22 | 5'10" | Caracas |
 Vietnam | Phạm Thị Hương | 24 | 5'8" | Hải Phòng |
Returns
- Last competed in 2012:
- * '
- * '
- Last competed in 2013:
- * '
- * '
Designations
- ' – Radostina Todorova was appointed "Miss Universe Bulgaria 2015" by Mega Talent Group, franchise holders for Miss Universe in Bulgaria, as the pageant was not held due to lack of time to organize it.
- ' – María Belén Jerez was appointed to represent Chile by Luciano Marocchino, the national director of Miss Universo Chile, after the pageant was not held due to time constraints in organizing the pageant.
- ' – Idubina Rivas was appointed to represent El Salvador by Liz De Castaneda, national director for Miss Universe in El Salvador, after the national pageant was postponed. Rivas was crowned Reinado de El Salvador International 2014.
- ' – Flora Coquerel was appointed "Miss Universe France 2015" by the national director of Miss France, Sylvie Tellier. Coquerel was crowned Miss France 2014 and was supposed to compete at the 2014 edition of both Miss World and Miss Universe pageants, but she was not sent to Miss Universe 2014 as the pageant was shifted to January 2015. She was replaced by the newly crowned Miss France 2015 Camille Cerf.
- ' – Janet Kerdikoshvili was appointed to represent Georgia by IC Model Management franchise holders for Miss Universe in Georgia. Kerdikoshvili was chosen to compete at Miss Universe 2013 but had to withdraw at the last minute due to unexpected health problems. She was crowned Miss Georgia 2011.
- ' – Mikaela Fotiadi was appointed "Star Hellas 2015" at a closed-door event organized by Vassilis Prevelakis, national director for Miss Universe in Greece.
- ' – Lisa Drouillard was appointed "Miss Haiti Universe 2015" at a casting call organized by Magali Febles, national director of Miss Haiti Universe pageant.
- ' – Giada Pezzaioli was appointed "Miss Universo Italia 2015" after a casting call was organized by Max Baratono, national director of Miss Universo Italia pageant.
- ' – Mirjeta Shala was appointed to represent Kosovo by Fadil Berisha, national director of Miss Universe Kosovo. Shala was crowned Miss Universe Kosovo 2013 but was forced to withdraw because Russia, the host country of the Miss Universe 2013 pageant, does not recognise Kosovo as an independent nation and hence denied her visa for entry.
- ' – Weronika Szmajdzińska was appointed "Miss Universe Poland 2015" by Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski, the new national director for Miss Universe in Poland. Szmajdzińska was crowned Miss Polski Teen 2011 and was also appointed to compete at Miss World 2012.
- ' – Emilia Araújo was appointed "Miss Universo Portugal 2015" at a casting call organized by Isidro de Brito, national director of Miss Universo Portugal.
- ' – Lisa Marie White was selected "Miss Universe Singapore 2015" by Nuraliza Osman, the new national director of Miss Universe Singapore at a casting call held due to time constraints in organizing the pageant. The Miss Universe franchise was previously held by Derrol Stepenny Promotions.
Replacements
- ' – Amina Dagi was chosen as "Miss Universe Austria 2015" by Silvia Schachermayer, national director of the Miss Austria pageant, as a replacement to Annika Grill who was sent to Miss World 2015 and hence was unable to participate in Miss Universe as the finale dates of Miss World and Miss Universe for the 2015 edition overlap. Dagi was crowned Miss Austria 2012.
- ' – Barbara Ljiljak was replaced by Mirta Laura Kustan, the 2nd runner-up of Miss Universe Croatia 2015, because Ljiljak had to withdraw due to an arm injury. The news was officially revealed by Ivana Delač Đolo, Miss Universe Croatia Organisation, Director of Public Relations.
- ' – Ornella Obone was appointed to compete at Miss Universe 2015 by the Miss Gabon Organization after they decided to send the winner of the Miss Gabon 2015 pageant, Reine Ngotala, to Miss World 2015. This year, the winner of the Miss Gabon pageant was crowned to participate at both Miss Universe and Miss World contests but this was not possible because of the conflicting dates of the 2015 Miss Universe and Miss World pageants. Obone was the 3rd runner-up at the Miss Gabon 2015 pageant.
- ' – Cynthia Samuel was appointed to represent Lebanon by Antoine Macksoud, the national director of the Miss Lebanon pageant, as a replacement to Valerie Abou Chacra, Miss Lebanon 2015, who will only compete at Miss World 2015 due to the conflicting dates of the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. The Miss Lebanon winner traditionally competes at both Miss World and Miss Universe. Samuel was the 1st runner-up at the Miss Lebanon 2015 pageant.
- ' – Sheetal Khadun was appointed "Miss Universe Mauritius 2015" by Primerose Obeegadoo, national director of the Miss Mauritius pageant, as the original winner, Kushboo Ramnawaj, withdrew for personal reasons. Khadun was the 1st Runner-up at the Miss Mauritius 2013 pageant and also competed at Miss World 2014.
- ' – Myriam Arévalos was designated to compete at Miss Universe 2015 by Promociones Gloria, franchise holders for Miss Universe in Paraguay, as a replacement to Laura Garcete who was dethroned after it was reported that she was pregnant. Arévalos was appointed to compete at Miss Earth 2015 but took over the Miss Universe title. She competed at Miss World 2014.
- ' – Vladislava Yevtushenko was appointed "Miss Universe Russia 2015" by the Miss Russia Organization as a replacement for Sofia Nikitchuk, the winner of the Miss Russia 2015 pageant, who competed only at Miss World 2015 due to the conflicting dates of the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants. The winner of the Miss Russia pageant usually participates at both Miss Universe and Miss World pageants. Yevtushenko represented Chita at Miss Russia 2015 and was the 1st runner-up at the pageant.
- ' – Refilwe Mthimunye was chosen "Miss Universe South Africa 2015" by Melinda Bam, national director of the Miss South Africa pageant, as a replacement for Liesl Laurie, who will be sent to Miss World 2015 and hence will not be able to participate in Miss Universe as the finale dates of Miss World and Miss Universe for the 2015 edition are close one another. Mthimunye was 1st runner-up at the Miss South Africa 2015 pageant.
Withdrawals
- ' – No national contest held.
- ' – Miss Universe Ethiopia was not held due to lack of sponsorship. The next edition will be held in October 2016.
- ' – The Miss Universe Guam pageant was postponed until early 2016.
- ' – Aigerim Smagulova was appointed to replace Regina Valter, Miss Almaty 2015, by the Miss Kazakhstan Organization because of scheduling conflict with the Miss Kazakhstan 2015 finals, but withdrew for personal reasons.
- ' – The Miss Universe Kenya pageant was postponed to next year.
- ' – The Miss Lietuva pageant was postponed.
- ' – Miss Universe Slovenia Ana Haložan suffered an accident when she arrived in Las Vegas, which resulted in hospitalization, preventing her from participating in registration activities, interviews and pictorials. She was not present at the first official events but stayed in Las Vegas until the pageant was over. She suffered a seizure and had her face partially paralyzed. Despite her withdrawal, she was given an opportunity to walk on the stage during the live telecast.
- ' – The Miss Universe Sri Lanka Organization plans to have its national contest in 2016.
- '- Miss Universe St. Lucia was not held, hence no delegate participated this year.
- ' – No national contest held.
- ' – Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago was cancelled after several major sponsors of the pageant withdrew because of the Donald Trump controversy and the upcoming general elections.
- ' – The Miss Turks and Caicos pageant was not held due to lack of funding and sponsorship. The next edition of Miss Turks and Caicos will be held in 2016.
General references