# Miss Universe 2004

Miss Universe 2004 was the 53rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Centro de Convenciones CEMEXPO in Quito, Ecuador on 1 June 2004.
At the end of the event, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic crowned Jennifer Hawkins of Australia as Miss Universe 2004. It is Australia's first victory in thirty-two years, and the second victory in the pageant's history.
Contestants from eighty contestants competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes. Cuban-American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan performed in this year's pageant.

## Background
### Location and date

In September 2002, the Miss Bahamas Universe Organization announced that the Bahamas is tentatively set to host the pageant. However, plans to host the pageant did not materialize, and the Bahamas hosted the pageant in 2009.
Quito, Ecuador was announced as host city of the pageant on 19 August 2003. The city paid $5 million for the right to host the event, although it anticipated recouping this through visitors and promotion of the country during the televised competition.
In March, Ecuador's foreign trade minister was forced to reject rumours that the pageant was at risk of being moved to China, and he urged Ecuadorians to back the pageant. As an added incentive for tourists, American Airlines, official airline sponsor of the pageant, offered 5% off airfares to Quito for travel to the pageant, as well as 10% off for those who booked a month in advance. The attempted use of the pageant to promote Ecuador threatened to be derailed just prior to the telecast, when a corruption scandal led to growing demands for the removal of President Lucio Gutierrez in the politically unstable country.
Prior to the arrival of delegates in early May, officials in Quito attempted to renovate areas where they would be visiting, which involved temporarily removing beggars and homeless people from certain areas of the city. The event was protested by native Indian activists and environmentalists who accused the government of concealing the nations poverty whilst the pageant was being hosted.
The delegates, judges, media and tourists were heavily protected by a security detail involving over 5000 police officers. On 16 May, just hours before delegates were expected to participate in a parade in Cuenca, a pamphlet bomb was deactivated by police. Although it was protesting the economic policies of the Ecuadorian government, police suspected that the bomb, found just six blocks from the parade route, was timed specifically to coincide with the event.

### Selection of participants

Contestants from eighty countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two delegates were appointees to their position to replace the original dethroned winner.
Zita Galgociova was initially chosen to represent Slovakia, but she was replaced with her first runner-up Zuzana Dvorska because she was under the minimum age. Miss Hanoi-Vietnam 2003 Nguyễn Thị Hồng Vân was chosen to represent Vietnam, but she was replaced by the gold medal winner of Vietnam Supermodel Award 2004 Hoàng Khánh Ngọc with unknown reasons.
The 2004 edition saw the debuts of Ethiopia, Georgia, and Vietnam, and the returns of Austria, Botswana, Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos, and Uruguay. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines last competed in 1991, Austria in 1999, Denmark in 2000, Botswana, Turks and Caicos, Lebanon, and Paraguay in 2001, while the others last competed in 2002. Albania, Argentina, Mauritius, Namibia, and New Zealand withdrew. Sabine Bourdet of Mauritius withdrew due to health problems, while Petrina Thomas of Namibia withdrew due to lack of sponsorship. Albania, Argentina, and New Zealand withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Maria José Girol Jimenez was set to compete at Miss Universe. However, Jimenez withdrew due to the lack of sponsorship. Dian Krishna, Puteri Indonesia 2003, was welcomed by the pageant organizers and was given the chance to attend the show in the audience as an observer. Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir of Iceland was also set to compete at Miss Universe, but withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 2004 | Australia – Jennifer Hawkins |
| 1st runner-up | United States – Shandi Finnessey |
| 2nd runner-up | Puerto Rico – Alba Reyes |
| 3rd runner-up | Paraguay – Yanina González |
| 4th runner-up | Trinidad and Tobago – Danielle Jones |
| Top 10 | Colombia – Catherine Daza  Costa Rica – Nancy Soto  Ecuador – Susana Rivadeneira  India – Tanushree Dutta  Jamaica – Christine Straw |
| Top 15 | Angola – Telma Sonhi  Chile – Gabriela Barros  Mexico – Rosalva Luna  Norway – Kathrine Sørland  Switzerland – Bianca Sissing |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Photogenic | Puerto Rico – Alba Reyes |
| Miss Congeniality | Italy – Laia Manetti |
| Best National Costume | Panama – Jessica Rodríguez |
| Best Catwalk | Vietnam – Hoàng Khánh Ngọc |

## Pageant
### Format

Same with 2003, fifteen semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The fifteen semifinalists competed in the evening gown and were narrowed down to ten afterward. The ten semifinalists competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final look.

### Selection committee
#### Final telecast

* Bo Derek – Film actress
* Bill Rancic – Winner of the first season of The Apprentice
* Katie Pritz – Today Show's "You Be The Judge" contest winner
* Wendy Fitzwilliam – Miss Universe 1998 from Trinidad and Tobago
* Elsa Benítez – International supermodel
* Jon Tutolo – President of Trump Model Management
* Anne Martin – Vice President of Global Cosmetics and Marketing of Procter & Gamble Cosmetics
* Monique Menniken – Supermodel
* Petra Nemcova – Sports Illustrated supermodel
* Jefferson Pérez – 1996 Ecuadorian Olympic gold medalist
* Emilio Estefan – Music producer and entertainer
Note: Kwame Jackson, runner-up on the first season of The Apprentice, was initially chosen as a judge, but he was disqualified because he inadvertently visited the hotel where the delegates were staying and interacted with some of the contestants.

## Contestants

Eighty contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Angola | Telma Sonhi | 18 | Lunda Sul |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Ann-Marie Brown | 25 | St. John's |
| Aruba | Zizi Lee | 22 | Oranjestad |
| Australia | Jennifer Hawkins | 20 | Newcastle |
| Austria | Daniela Strigl | 23 | Salzburg |
| Bahamas | Raquel Horton | 24 | New Providence |
| Barbados | Cindy Batson | 19 | Saint Michael |
| Belgium | Lindsy Dehollander | 21 | Brussels |
| Belize | Leilah Pandy | 23 | Belize City |
| Bolivia | Gabriela Oviedo | 21 | Santa Cruz |
| Botswana | Icho Keolotswe | 24 | Gaborone |
| Brazil | Fabiane Niclotti † | 19 | Gramado |
| Bulgaria | Ivelina Petrova | 18 | Varna |
| Canada | Venessa Fisher | 18 | Waterdown |
| Cayman Islands | Stacey-Ann Kelly | 25 | Bodden Town |
| Chile | Gabriela Barros | 23 | Viña del Mar |
| China | Zhang Meng | 23 | Tianjin |
| Chinese Taipei | Janie Hsieh | 26 | Taipei |
| Colombia | Catherine Daza | 21 | Cali |
| Costa Rica | Nancy Soto | 23 | San Lorenzo |
| Croatia | Marijana Rupčić | 18 | Slavonia |
| Curaçao | Angeline da Silva | 19 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Nayia Iacovidou | 21 | Nicosia |
| Czech Republic | Lucie Váchová | 19 | Příbram |
| Denmark | Tina Christensen | 22 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Larimar Fiallo | 20 | Santo Domingo |
| Ecuador | Susana Rivadeneira | 24 | Quito |
| Egypt | Heba El-Sisy | 22 | Mansoura |
| El Salvador | Gabriela Mejía | 19 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Sirle Kalma | 22 | Viljandi |
| Ethiopia | Ferehyiwot Abebe | 18 | Bahir Dar |
| Finland | Mira Salo | 23 | Helsinki |
| France | Lætitia Bléger | 23 | Saint-Hippolyte |
| Georgia | Nino Murtazashvilli | 21 | Tbilisi |
| Germany | Shermine Shahrivar | 21 | Süddeutschland |
| Ghana | Menaye Donkor | 23 | Accra |
| Greece | Valia Kakouti | 23 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Marva Weatherborn | 20 | Izabal |
| Guyana | Odessa Phillips | 21 | Vergenoegen |
| Hungary | Blanka Bakos | 19 | Ibrány |
| India | Tanushree Dutta | 20 | Jamshedpur |
| Ireland | Cathriona Duignam | 23 | Dublin |
| Israel | Gal Gadot | 19 | Rosh HaAyin |
| Italy | Laia Manetti | 23 | Milan |
| Jamaica | Christine Straw | 24 | Blue Mountains |
| Japan | Eri Machimoto | 20 | Fukuyama |
| Kenya | Anita Maina | 21 | Nairobi |
| Lebanon | Marie-José Hnein | 19 | Byblos |
| Malaysia | Andrea Fonseka | 19 | Petaling Jaya |
| Mexico | Rosalva Luna | 21 | Los Mochis |
| Netherlands | Lindsay Grace Pronk | 21 | The Hague |
| Nicaragua | Marifely Argüello | 22 | Managua |
| Nigeria | Anita Uwagbale | 19 | Lagos |
| Norway | Kathrine Sørland | 24 | Sola |
| Panama | Jessica Rodríguez | 22 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | Yanina González | 24 | Asunción |
| Peru | Liesel Holler | 24 | Cerro de Pasco |
| Philippines | Maricar Balagtas | 21 | Plaridel |
| Poland | Paulina Panek | 21 | Rzeszów |
| Puerto Rico | Alba Reyes | 22 | Cidra |
| Russia | Ksenia Kustova | 20 | Novosibirsk |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Laferne Fraser | 20 | Kingstown |
| Serbia and Montenegro | Dragana Dujović | 19 | Novi Sad |
| Singapore | Sandy Chua | 19 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Zuzana Dvorska | 19 | Banská Bystrica |
| Slovenia | Sabina Remar | 22 | Trbovlje |
| South Africa | Joan Ramagoshi | 25 | Gauteng |
| South Korea | Choi Yun-yong | 20 | Seoul |
| Spain | María Jesús Ruiz | 21 | Andújar |
| Sweden | Katarina Wigander | 21 | Lerum |
| Switzerland | Bianca Sissing | 25 | Lucerne |
| Thailand | Morakot Kittisara | 20 | Bangkok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Danielle Jones | 26 | Saint James |
| Turkey | Fatoş Seğmen | 22 | İzmir |
| Turks and Caicos | Shamara Ariza | 19 | Grand Turk |
| Ukraine | Oleksandra Nikolayenko | 22 | Odesa |
| United States | Shandi Finnessey | 25 | Florissant |
| Uruguay | Nicole Dupont | 20 | Maldonado |
| Venezuela | Ana Karina Áñez | 19 | Barquisimeto |
| Vietnam | Hoàng Khánh Ngọc | 19 | Hải Dương |