Date 30 January 2017 Entrants 86 | Entertainment Flo Rida
Boyz II Men | |
 | ||
Presenters Steve Harvey
Ashley Graham Venue Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines Broadcaster Fox
Azteca
Solar Entertainment
GMA Network
ABS-CBN
TV5 | ||
Miss Universe 2016, the 65th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 30 January 2017 at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere of France at the end of the event. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped the entire year, following the 2014 pageant which was held in January 2015. The victory of France ended the country's 63-year title drought, the longest in Miss Universe history. Mittenaere is the first European Miss Universe in 14 years, the last being Russia's Oxana Fedorova who originally won in 2002 before being dethroned.
Contents
Organization
On July 18, 2016, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach made a courtesy call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in regards to hosting Miss Universe 2016 in the Philippines. Ten days later, the country's Department of Tourism (DOT) unilaterally declared that the Philippines was to host the Miss Universe 2016 pageant but it was not until November 3, 2016 that the Miss Universe Organization (MOU) officially announced the country as host of the pageant.
The pageant was organized by the LCS Group of Companies, the DOT and the MOU.
Main venue
In September 2016, the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay was announced to be the main coronation venue of the pageant according to the Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo. The Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan was the other venue considered by the Department of Tourism as the main coronation venue of the pageant, but the Miss Universe Organization disapproved of the venue due to "security reasons".
Marketing
A reality-documentary television program entitled Journey to the Crown: A Celebration of Beauty was shown on ETC on November 6, 2016 in the Philippines as part of marketing of the pageant.
Kick-off event
A kick-off party was hosted on December 9, 2016 at Conrad Manila, a hotel in Pasay, marking the beginning of the pageant. Twelve contestants from Asia Pacific were in attendance for the event. They were:
Ancillary and other events
Alongside with the main pageant, ancillary events were held which has no effect on the contestants' total pageant score. The contestants were scheduled to participate in fashion shows in Davao, Cebu, and Vigan. Each venue had a theme; Mindanao fabric for Davao, beachwear for Cebu, and terno for Vigan. The contestants partook in a different event in Bicol.
On December 13, 2016, some of the pageant's candidates had a photoshoot with whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu. This activity was criticized by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Marine Wildlife Watch, and other wildlife conservationist groups in the Philippines who discourage human interaction with the whale sharks, as they are considered endangered species. The Department of Tourism (DOT) said that there were only five candidates present and the activity was an occular inspection. Following criticisms, the DOT is considering to do the whale watching activity for the final show in Donsol, Sorsogon instead.
On December 14, 2016, the DOT cancelled the fashion show originally scheduled on January 19, 2016 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City to prevent further "controversy" following the claim of local-based designers led by the Davao Fashion and Design Council Foundation, Inc. (DFDCFI) that they have been "brushed off" by the pageant organizers. The group claimed that they were never consulted and questioned why they were asked to dress up local models instead of being in charge of pre-show cocktail of the main event which is tasked to non-Mindanaoan designer, Renee Salud. Following the cancellation announcement, the DFDCFI said that they respect the decision but urged the organizers that Davao City to remain as one of the places to be visited by the candidates. On December 22, 2016, it was announced that the fashion show will push through after Salud and the DFDCFI cleared their misunderstandings and decided to help each other.
The national costume show was done on January 27, 2016 which had no bearing on the preliminary scores.
Preliminary Competition
At the Mall of Asia Arena, all 86 contestants competed in swimwear and evening gown in front of a panel of preliminary judges. The scores from the night's event along with an interview portion determine the Top 13 during the Miss Universe broadcast. The Preliminary Competition was hosted by Pia Wurtzbach and Filipino-British actor Derek Ramsay.
Judges
Final program
The pageant program was initially announced to start at 5 a.m. (UTC+08:00) but it was later announced that the program was to run from 8 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
Solar Entertainment, one of the pageant's partners, was tasked to provide broadcast coverage of the competition in the Philippines. In December 2016, TV5, GMA Network and ABS-CBN secured rights to air live coverage of the pageant. Earlier in November its was reported that "all local networks" including GMA Network and TV5 will broadcast the pageant upon the request of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Additionally, TV5 had exclusive rights to air the preliminary event as well as exclusive Philippine digital rights. TV5 posted behind the scenes content on their online TV5 studio
Presenters
American presenter Steve Harvey has a five year contract with the Miss Universe Organization for hosting the Miss Universe pageant. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed hesitation on Harvey hosting the event due to Harvey announcing the wrong winner at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. In response, Philippine Department of Tourism head, Secretary Wanda Teo proposed the idea of having a Filipino woman co-host the event to neutralize the president's displeasure. On November 3, 2016, Harvey was confirmed to return as host.
American model Ashley Graham served as the backstage host.
Judges
Performers
American entertainers Flo Rida and Boyz II Men were the musical performers at the final program of the pageant.
Program
The twelve women who garnered the highest scores following the preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competition held on January 26 and the subsequent closed door interviews, were named as part of the Top 13. The 13th candidate, Chalita Suansane of Thailand, was determined through online voting results. After the swimsuit presentation from the 13 remaining candidates, nine candidates were selected with the highest garnered average score from the judges and the global online vote.
Three were then eliminated and the Top 6 candidates proceeded to the question-and-answer portion, where they were asked questions regarding international or their country's affairs. The final three is then announced and all are asked the same question. Miss France was announced as Miss Universe 2016.
Best National Costume
During the final program, the winner of the National Costume Show held on January 27, 2016 was announced. Miss Myanmar, Htet Htet Htun, was awarded the Best National Costume. Her costume which weighed 40 kilograms (88 lb) featured the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Bagan temples, which she says represents the princess of figures of Myanmar traditional puppetry.
After party
An after party event was held at the Okada Manila hotel. During this event, Jenny Kim of Korea was given the Miss Congeniality award while Lindita Idrizi of Albania was given the Miss Photogenic award. The awards were not announced during the final program due to lack of time.
Placements
§ Voted into the Top 13 by viewers.
Contestants
86 contestants competed for the title of Miss Universe 2016: Age, height, and hometown are as listed on the Miss Universe 2016 official website. Note that listed hometown may not be necessarily the candidates' birthplace.
Replacements
.