India's
Harnaaz Sandhu is crowned Miss Universe 2021
"know
that you are unique and that's what makes you
beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others.
"I believed in myself, and that's why I'm
standing here today,"
Harnaaz
Sandhu of India was crowned Miss Universe
2021 on Sunday, marking the end of a
controversial pageant hosted this year in southern
Israel. In a speech on stage during the pageant,
Sandhu urged young people to "know that
you are unique and that's what makes you
beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others.
"I believed in myself, and that's why I'm
standing here today," she added, to loud
applause from the audience.
The
pageant was held in the resort city of Eilat, with
80 women from around the world competing for the
crown. Sunday night was the last day of the
competition, with eliminations narrowing down the
number of finalists until the last two remained.
Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay and Lalela Mswane of
South Africa were the first and second runners-up,
respectively.
Launched
during the Cold War, Chinatown's pageants were
about much more than beauty The competition was
hosted by comedian Steve Harvey, who at one point
in the night asked Sandhu, "I hear you do
some pretty good animal impersonations, let's hear
your best one." Harvey was later criticized
online for singling her out with what many have
suggested was an inappropriate question.
"Oh
my god, Steve, I was not expecting to do this on
the world stage. I have to do this, I have no
other option. Brace yourselves, everyone,"
she said looking surprised, before demonstrating a
few meows. At a later Q&A session, when Sandhu
had reached the top 5, she took the opportunity to
spread a message on climate change. "This is
the time to take action and talk less," she
said. "Prevent and protect is better than
repent and repair."
After
her win was announced, she celebrated with other
contestants on stage, shouting to a camera,
"Chak de Phatte India," a Punjabi
exclamation similar in meaning to "Let's do
this, India!" Politics threatens to outshine
pageantry as Israel stages Miss Universe
contest
This
year's competition marks the second Covid-era Miss
Universe pageant. Israel's borders were set to
open to vaccinated tourists ahead of the main
event this year, which would have allowed
thousands of fans to attend. But with the
emergence of the new Omicron variant, the Israeli
government shut its borders to foreigners two
weeks before the competition, throwing travel
plans and preparations into chaos.
One
contestant, Miss France, tested positive for the
virus upon landing in Israel and had to quarantine
-- getting out just in time for the preliminary
competition on Friday. The pageant was also
wrapped in another layer of political controversy,
with some critics and countries calling for
boycotts -- as with previous international events
hosted in Israel.
