Miss Universe 2023 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miss Universe 2023
Date	18 November 2023
Presenters	Jeannie Mai Maria Menounos Olivia Culpo Catriona Gray Zuri Hall
Entertainment	John Legend
Venue	José Adolfo Pineda Arena, San Salvador, El Salvador
Broadcaster	International: The Roku Channel Telemundo Official broadcaster: Canal 2 YouTube
Entrants	84
Placements	20
Debuts	Pakistan
Withdrawals	Armenia Belize Bhutan China Ghana Haiti Kyrgyzstan Seychelles Turkey Uruguay
Returns	Denmark Egypt Guyana Hungary Ireland Kazakhstan Latvia Mongolia Norway Zimbabwe
Winner	Sheynnis Palacios  Nicaragua
Congeniality	Athenea Pérez  Spain
← 2022 2024 →

Miss Universe 2023 was a big international beauty contest. It was the 72nd time this event was held. The pageant took place in San Salvador, El Salvador, on November 18, 2023. The venue was the José Adolfo Pineda Arena.

At the end of the show, Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua was crowned Miss Universe 2023. She was crowned by R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States, who was Miss Universe 2022. This was the first time Nicaragua won the Miss Universe title, which was a very special moment for their country.

Eighty-four contestants from different countries and regions competed in this exciting event. The show was hosted by Jeannie Mai, Olivia Culpo (who was Miss Universe 2012), and Maria Menounos. Catriona Gray (Miss Universe 2018) and Zuri Hall were also there, reporting from backstage. The famous singer John Legend performed during the pageant.

About the Event

Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in October 2023

Where and When Was it Held?

On January 14, 2023, during the Miss Universe 2022 pageant, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced that his country would host the 72nd Miss Universe event. El Salvador had hosted the pageant before, back in 1975. Later, on July 27, 2023, the Miss Universe Organization confirmed the date: November 18, 2023.

How Were Contestants Chosen?

Eighty-four young women from various countries and territories were chosen to compete. For the first time since 1957, the Miss Universe contest allowed married women and women with children to participate. This was a big change!

Changes in Participants

Sometimes, a contestant chosen for the pageant cannot compete. For example, Namuunzul Batmagnai represented Mongolia. She was chosen after the original winner could not participate. In Vietnam, the company that held the Miss Universe franchise changed. This led to a new contest to pick Vietnam's representative, and Quỳnh Hoa Bùi was chosen.

New and Returning Countries

This year, Pakistan joined the Miss Universe competition for the very first time. Several countries also returned after not competing for a while. These included Denmark, Egypt, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Mongolia, Norway, and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe last competed in 2001, and Latvia in 2006.

Some countries, like Armenia and China, did not send a delegate this year. This was due to different reasons, such as not being able to choose a representative or having other issues.

Who Won?

Top Contestants

The competition had several rounds, and the judges chose the best contestants. Here are the top winners:

§ – Voted into the Top 20 by viewers

Special Awards

Some contestants also received special awards for their qualities or efforts.

Voice For Change Competition

Before the main pageant, contestants took part in the Voice For Change competition. They made short videos (three minutes long) to talk about causes they cared about. This could be anything from helping the environment to supporting education. Winners were chosen by online votes and a special committee. Three contestants won gold, and ten won silver.

How the Pageant Worked

Competition Rules

The Miss Universe contest made some changes to how the competition worked this year. The number of semifinalists increased to twenty. This is the same number as in 2019.

The first nineteen semifinalists were chosen based on a preliminary competition. This competition included swimsuit and evening gown rounds, plus private interviews with judges. The twentieth semifinalist was chosen by online votes from the public.

These twenty semifinalists then competed in the swimsuit competition. After that, only ten moved on. The top ten then competed in the evening gown competition, and five finalists were chosen. These five finalists answered interview questions. Finally, the top three were selected. These three answered one more question, and then Miss Universe 2023 and her two runners-up were announced.

Who Were the Judges?

A group of important people judged the competition. They included models, singers, actors, and business leaders. Some of the judges were:

• Halima Aden – A Somali-American model.
• Mario Bautista – A singer from Mexico.
• Giselle Blondet – An actress and TV host from Puerto Rico.
• Janelle Commissiong – Miss Universe 1977 from Trinidad and Tobago.
• Nadia Ferreira – Miss Universe Paraguay 2021.
• Avani Gregg – A social media star from America.
• Carson Kressley – An American actor and TV personality.
• Connie Mariano – A doctor from the Philippines and America.
• Iris Mittenaere – Miss Universe 2016 from France.
• Sweta Patel – A Vice President at Roku.
• Denise White – An American businesswoman.

Contestants from Around the World

Eighty-four contestants competed for the Miss Universe title. They came from many different countries and territories.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age	Hometown
Albania	Demneri, EndiEndi Demneri	25	Tirana
Angola	Coimbra, AnaAna Coimbra	23	Benguela
Argentina	Dajud, YamileYamile Dajud	27	Buenos Aires
Aruba	Croes, KarolKarol Croes	27	Oranjestad
Australia	Wilson, MorayaMoraya Wilson	22	Melbourne
Bahamas	Ingraham, MelissaMelissa Ingraham	26	Long Island
Bahrain	Yacoub, LujaneLujane Yacoub	19	Hamala
Belgium	Vansteenkiste, EmilieEmilie Vansteenkiste	22	Elewijt
Bolivia	Rivero, EstefanyEstefany Rivero	26	Trinidad
Brazil	Brechane, MariaMaria Brechane	19	Rio Grande
British Virgin Islands	Fahie, AshellicaAshellica Fahie	28	Tortola
Bulgaria	Pavlikova, YuliiaYuliia Pavlikova	30	Kerch
Cambodia	John, SotimaSotima John	23	Kampong Cham
Cameroon	Princesse, IssieIssie Princesse	22	Littoral Region
Canada	Kvaltin, MadisonMadison Kvaltin	25	Greater Sudbury
Cayman Islands	Powery, IleannIleann Powery	26	West Bay
Chile	Viel, CelesteCeleste Viel	24	Santiago
Colombia	Avella, CamilaCamila Avella	28	Yopal
Costa Rica	Valverde, LisbethLisbeth Valverde	28	Uvita
Croatia	Erjavec, AndreaAndrea Erjavec	23	Perušić
Curaçao	Rossen, KimKim Rossen	26	Willemstad
Czech Republic	Švédová, VanesaVanesa Švédová	20	Přerov
Denmark	Hansen, NikolineNikoline Hansen	21	Valby
Dominican Republic	Downing, MarianaMariana Downing	27	Cotuí
Ecuador	Stoffers, DelaryDelary Stoffers	23	Guayaquil
Egypt	Tantawy, MohraMohra Tantawy	21	Cairo
El Salvador	García-Manzo, IsabellaIsabella García-Manzo	20	San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea	Hinestrosa, DianaDiana Hinestrosa	25	Corisco
Finland	Joukanen, PaulaPaula Joukanen	22	Helsinki
France	Leyre, DianeDiane Leyre	26	Paris
Germany	Bleicher, HelenaHelena Bleicher	24	Ravensburg
Great Britain	Page, JessicaJessica Page	28	Liverpool
Greece	Zaloumi, MarieliaMarielia Zaloumi	20	Athens
Guatemala	Cohn, MichelleMichelle Cohn	28	Guatemala City
Guyana	Narine, LisaLisa Narine	26	Pomeroon-Supenaam
Honduras	Clemente, ZuheilynZuheilyn Clemente	23	Tegucigalpa
Hungary	Blága, TündeTünde Blága	27	Hidegség
Iceland	Pétursdóttir, LiljaLilja Pétursdóttir	19	Reykjavík
India	Sharda, ShwetaShweta Sharda	23	Chandigarh
Indonesia	Groeneveld, FabiënneFabiënne Groeneveld	23	Jakarta
Ireland	Akorede, AishahAishah Akorede	24	Leixlip
Italy	Panepinto, CarmenCarmen Panepinto	24	Vittoria
Jamaica	Levy, JordanneJordanne Levy	27	Kingston
Japan	Miyazaki, RioRio Miyazaki	20	Shizuoka
Kazakhstan	Zair, TomirisTomiris Zair	20	Almaty
Kosovo	Rrahmani, ArbesaArbesa Rrahmani	22	Ferizaj
Laos	Lathsabanthao, PhaimanyPhaimany Lathsabanthao	28	Vientiane
Latvia	Alexeeva, KateKate Alexeeva	29	Riga
Lebanon	Aboul Hosn, MayaMaya Aboul Hosn	25	Btekhnay
Malaysia	Lee, SerenaSerena Lee	26	Kuala Lumpur
Malta	Portelli, EllaElla Portelli	25	St. Julian's
Mauritius	Beauharnais, TatianaTatiana Beauharnais	24	Souillac
Mexico	Flores, MelissaMelissa Flores	25	Venustiano Carranza
Mongolia	Batmagnai, NamuunzulNamuunzul Batmagnai	24	Ulaanbaatar
Myanmar	Bo, AmaraAmara Bo	23	Mandalay
Namibia	Uiras, JameelaJameela Uiras	23	Windhoek
Nepal	Garrett, JaneJane Garrett	23	Kathmandu
Netherlands	Kollé, RikkieRikkie Kollé	22	Breda
Nicaragua	Palacios, SheynnisSheynnis Palacios	23	Diriamba
Nigeria	Ihezue, UgochiUgochi Ihezue	27	Ideato North
Norway	Tollefsen, JulieJulie Tollefsen	28	Oslo
Pakistan	Robin, EricaErica Robin	25	Karachi
Panama	Vargas, NatashaNatasha Vargas	26	Las Tablas
Paraguay	Andrada, ElicenaElicena Andrada	28	Tobatí
Peru	Escribens, CamilaCamila Escribens	25	Lima
Philippines	Dee, MichelleMichelle Dee	28	Makati
Poland	Jurkowianiec, AngelikaAngelika Jurkowianiec	27	Namysłów
Portugal	Machete, MarinaMarina Machete	28	Palmela
Puerto Rico	Guilfú, KarlaKarla Guilfú	25	Patillas
Russia	Golubeva, MargaritaMargarita Golubeva	22	Saint Petersburg
Saint Lucia	Frederick, EarlycaEarlyca Frederick	25	Choiseul
Singapore	Annuncia, PriyankaPriyanka Annuncia	26	Singapore
Slovakia	Puhová, KingaKinga Puhová	23	Dunajská Streda
South Africa	Govender, BryoniBryoni Govender	27	Kempton Park
South Korea	Kim, So-yunSo-yun Kim	28	South Gyeongsang
Spain	Pérez, AtheneaAthenea Pérez	27	Murcia
Switzerland	Santen, LorenaLorena Santen	26	Aargau
Thailand	Porsild, AnntoniaAnntonia Porsild	27	Nakhon Ratchasima
Trinidad and Tobago	Gillezeau, FaithFaith Gillezeau	25	San Fernando
Ukraine	Usanova, AngelinaAngelina Usanova	26	Kyiv
United States	Voigt, NoeliaNoelia Voigt	24	Park City
Venezuela	Silva, DianaDiana Silva	26	Caracas
Vietnam	Hoa Bùi, QuỳnhQuỳnh Hoa Bùi	25	Hanoi
Zimbabwe	Bruk-Jackson, BrookeBrooke Bruk-Jackson	21	Harare

See also

In Spanish: Miss Universo 2023 para niños