EILAT, Israel (AP) \u2014 Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe on Sunday, topping a field of some 80 contestants in a pageant that was touched by politics and the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The previously reigning Miss Universe,\u00a0Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor, a Bollywood actress, in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat. The pageant was held in the middle of the night, wrapping up at 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. EST) to accommodate the primetime schedule in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sandhu said she was feeling \u201coverwhelmed because it\u2019s been 21 years since India got Miss Universe crown and it\u2019s happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pageant included traditional displays of national costumes, swimwear and a series of interview questions to test contestants\u2019 public speaking skills. The top 10 showed off intricately bedazzled full-length gowns in either gold, silver or bronze. The Philippines\u2019 Beatrice Luigi Gomez wore an asymmetrical cut dress with one sleeve, highlighting a new tattoo she said \u201ccelebrates her womanhood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the contest also drew attention in recent weeks for other reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A grassroots Palestinian-led boycott had urged contestants to skip the event to protest\u00a0Israel\u2019s treatment of the Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, only Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the global COVID-19 situation. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause,\u00a0withdrew support for the country\u2019s representative\u00a0over her participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview last month, Meza urged contestants to\u00a0leave politics out of the pageant, saying the gathering was meant to bring together women from different backgrounds. \u201cWhen you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion,\u201d she told The Associated Press at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sara Salansky, an official with the Israeli Tourism Ministry, said\u00a0the country was selected to host the contest\u00a0earlier this year because of Israel\u2019s successful coronavirus vaccination program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contest suffered a last-minute hiccup with the arrival of the omicron variant, which forced Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the run-up to Sunday\u2019s contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid all the safeguards, France\u2019s contestant, Clemence Botino,\u00a0tested positive for COVID-19\u00a0shortly after arriving in Israel. After 10 days in quarantine, she was declared virus free last week and allowed to rejoin the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year\u2019s pageant was delayed due to the pandemic before Meza was crowned in May for her abbreviated tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday\u2019s contest was hosted by U.S. TV personality Steve Harvey. Organizers said the pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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