# Miss Universe 2008

Miss Universe 2008 was the 57th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008. This was the first time that the Miss Universe pageant was broadcast in 1080i High-definition.
At the end of the event, Riyo Mori of Japan crowned Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela as Miss Universe 2008. It was Venezuela's first victory in twelve years, and the fifth victory of the country in the pageant's history.
Contestants from eighty countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Jerry Springer and member of the UK pop group Spice Girls Mel B. American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga performed in this year's pageant.
The competition also featured the debut of the new CAO Fine Jewelry Crown, which was designed by the Phu Nhuan Jewelry Company and Vietnamese-American jewelry designer Rosalina Lydster. The crown is made with 18k white and yellow gold and platinum, with over 1,000 precious stones including 44 carats (8.8 g) of diamonds. The crown is said to be worth $120,000, and will only be awarded in this edition. The Phoenix Mikimoto Crown will still be used by the winner.

## Background
### Location and date

In August 2007, representatives of the Miss Universe Organization visited cities that bid to host the pageant such as Dubai and Hanoi to evaluate if these cities can host the pageant. During their stay in Vietnam, Paula Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization, also visited the cities of Nha Trang and Da Lat.
On September 26, 2007, the Vietnamese government approved the proposal of Khánh Hòa to host the pageant in Nha Trang in May 2008. This was the first major U.S.-based television production in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War. On November 27, 2007, the Miss Universe Organization officially announced at the Sheraton Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City that the competition will take place at the Diamond Bay Resort in Nha Trang on July 14, 2008.
The Crown Convention Center, a 7,500-seat indoor arena with an area of 10,000 square-meters was built for the pageant. It is located at the Diamond Bay Resort and was opened on June 30, 2008. It is the third biggest Convention Center in Southeast Asia.

### Selection of participants

Contestants from eighty countries and territories were selected to compete in the competition. Two of these delegates were appointees to their positions after being a runner-up of their national pageant or being selected through a casting process, while six were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Miss Estonia 2008 Kadri Nõgu was replaced by Julia Kovaljova, the first runner-up of Miss Estonia 2008, due to undisclosed reasons. Laura Tanguy, the second runner-up of Miss France 2008, was appointed to represent France after Valérie Bègue, Miss France 2008, was not allowed to compete in international beauty pageants after suggestive photos of her appeared in the media shortly after her crowning. Nino Likuchova, Miss Georgia 2007 was stripped of her title after revealing that she was abducted at the age of 16 and was forced to marry without the consent of her parents. Her first runner-up, Nino Lekveishvili was chosen to take over the title. However, Lekveishvili was also found out to be married. Due to this, Gvantsa Daraselia was appointed to represent Georgia at Miss Universe. Vera Krasova, the first runner-up of Miss Russia 2007, was appointed to represent Russia after Ksenia Sukhinova, Miss Russia 2007, was unable to compete due to her studies. Claudia Moro was appointed as the representative of Spain after Patricia Yurena Rodríguez, Miss Spain 2008, couldn't participate because she did not meet the minimum age requirements. However, Rodríguez competed at Miss Universe five years later. Bojana Borić, the second runner-up of Miss Serbia 2007, was appointed to represent Serbia after Zorana Tasovac, the first runner-up of Miss Serbia 2007, withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.
The 2008 edition saw the debut of Kosovo and the return of the Cayman Islands, Ghana, Guam, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Guam last competed in 2000, the Netherlands and Vietnam last competed in 2005, while the others last competed in 2006. Barbados, Belize, Bulgaria, Guyana, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, the US Virgin Islands, and Zambia withdrew. Tanisha Vernon of Belize withdrew due to internal issues between her and her national organization. Barbados, Bulgaria, Guyana, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, the US Virgin Islands, and Zambia withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 2008 | Venezuela – Dayana Mendoza |
| 1st runner-up | Colombia – Taliana Vargas |
| 2nd runner-up | Dominican Republic – Marianne Cruz |
| 3rd runner-up | Russia – Vera Krasova |
| 4th runner-up | Mexico – Elisa Nájera |
| Top 10 | Australia – Laura Dundovic  Italy – Claudia Ferraris  Kosovo – Zana Krasniqi  Spain – Claudia Moro  United States – Crystle Stewart |
| Top 15 | Czech Republic – Eliška Bučková  Hungary – Jázmin Dammak  Japan – Hiroko Mima  South Africa – Tansey Coetzee  Vietnam – Nguyễn Thùy Lâm |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Best National Costume | Thailand – Gavintra Photijak |
| Miss Congeniality | El Salvador – Rebeca Moreno |
| Most Beautiful Figure | Mexico – Elisa Nájera |
| Miss Ao Dai | Venezuela – Dayana Mendoza |

## Pageant
### Format

Same with 2007, 15 semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The top 15 competed in the swimsuit competition and were narrowed down to the top 10 afterward. The top 10 competed in the evening gown competition and were narrowed down to the top 5 afterward. The top 5 competed in the question and answer round and the final look.

### Selection committee
#### Final telecast

* Jennifer Hawkins – Miss Universe 2004 from Australia
* Roberto Cavalli – Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur
* Nadine Velazquez – Puerto Rican actress from the television series My Name is Earl
* Louis Licari – Celebrity hairdresser and beauty expert
* Donald Trump Jr. – Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization
* Nguyen Cong Che – Vietnamese journalist
* Joe Cinque – CEO and President of the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences
* Taryn Rose – Shoe designer
* Isha Koppikar – Indian actress and singer

## Contestants

Eighty contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Albania | Matilda Mcini | 19 | Tirana |
| Angola | Lesliana Pereira | 20 | M'banza-Kongo |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Athina James | 18 | St. John's |
| Argentina | Maria Silvana Belli | 19 | Villa Krause |
| Aruba | Tracey Nicolaas | 20 | Oranjestad |
| Australia | Laura Dundovic | 21 | Sydney |
| Bahamas | Sacha Scott | 19 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Alizée Poulicek | 21 | Huy |
| Bolivia | Katherine David | 19 | San Ignacio de Velasco |
| Brazil | Natálya Anderle | 22 | Encantado |
| Canada | Samantha Tajik | 26 | Richmond Hill |
| Cayman Islands | Rebecca Parchment | 26 | West Bay |
| China | Wei Ziya | 25 | Chongqing |
| Colombia | Taliana Vargas | 20 | Santa Marta |
| Costa Rica | María Teresa Rodríguez | 21 | Alajuela |
| Croatia | Snježana Lončarević | 24 | Zagreb |
| Curaçao | Jenyfeer Mercelina | 19 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Dimitra Sergiou | 23 | Limassol |
| Czech Republic | Eliška Bučková | 18 | Strážnice |
| Denmark | Maria Sten-Knudsen | 18 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Marianne Cruz | 23 | Salcedo |
| Ecuador | Domenica Saporitti | 19 | Guayaquil |
| Egypt | Yara Naoum | 20 | Cairo |
| El Salvador | Rebeca Moreno | 22 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Julia Kovaljova | 22 | Tallinn |
| Finland | Satu Sinikka Tuomisto | 21 | Akaa |
| France | Laura Tanguy | 20 | Ecouflant |
| Georgia | Gvantsa Daraselia | 18 | Tbilisi |
| Germany | Madina Taher | 21 | Elmshorn |
| Ghana | Yvette Nsiah | 21 | Accra |
| Greece | Dionissia Koukiou | 22 | Athens |
| Guam | Siera Robertson | 18 | Yona |
| Guatemala | Jennifer Chiong | 25 | Quetzaltenango |
| Honduras | Diana Barrasa | 22 | Tegucigalpa |
| Hungary | Jázmin Dammak | 24 | Budapest |
| India | Simran Kaur Mundi | 22 | Mumbai |
| Indonesia | Putri Raemawasti | 21 | Blitar |
| Ireland | Lynn Kelly | 20 | Dublin |
| Israel | Shunit Faragi | 21 | Kiryat Tiv'on |
| Italy | Claudia Ferraris | 19 | Bergamo |
| Jamaica | April Jackson | 19 | Ocho Ríos |
| Japan | Hiroko Mima | 21 | Tokushima |
| Kazakhstan | Alfina Nassyrova | 20 | Almaty |
| Kosovo | Zana Krasniqi | 19 | Pristina |
| Malaysia | Levy Li Sun Lim | 20 | Terengganu |
| Mauritius | Olivia Carey | 19 | Vacoas |
| Mexico | Elisa Nájera | 21 | Celaya |
| Montenegro | Daša Živković | 19 | Nikšić |
| Netherlands | Charlotte Labee | 22 | The Hague |
| New Zealand | Samantha Powell | 21 | Paraparaumu |
| Nicaragua | Thelma Rodríguez | 19 | Chinandega |
| Nigeria | Stephanie Oforka | 20 | Port Harcourt |
| Norway | Mariann Birkedal | 21 | Stavanger |
| Panama | Carolina Dementiev Justavino | 19 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | Giannina Rufinelli | 22 | Luque |
| Peru | Karol Castillo † | 18 | Trujillo |
| Philippines | Jennifer Barrientos | 22 | San Mateo |
| Poland | Barbara Tatara | 24 | Łódź |
| Puerto Rico | Ingrid Marie Rivera | 24 | Dorado |
| Russia | Vera Krasova | 20 | Moscow |
| Serbia | Bojana Borić | 21 | Sremska Mitrovica |
| Singapore | Shenise Wong | 26 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Sandra Manáková | 20 | Bratislava |
| Slovenia | Anamarija Avbelj | 20 | Lukovica |
| South Africa | Tansey Coetzee | 23 | Johannesburg |
| South Korea | Sun Lee | 25 | Seoul |
| Spain | Claudia Moro | 22 | Madrid |
| Sri Lanka | Aruni Rajapaksha | 24 | Kandy |
| Switzerland | Amanda Ammann | 21 | Abtwil |
| Tanzania | Amanda Ole Sululu | 21 | Arusha |
| Thailand | Gavintra Photijak | 21 | Nongkhai |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Anya Ayoung-Chee | 26 | Maraval |
| Turkey | Sinem Sülün | 19 | Istanbul |
| Turks and Caicos | Angelica Lightbourne | 19 | Providenciales |
| Ukraine | Eleonora Masalab | 19 | Kharkiv |
| United Kingdom | Lisa Lazarus | 20 | Swansea |
| United States | Crystle Stewart | 26 | Missouri City |
| Uruguay | Paula Díaz | 19 | Ciudad de la Costa |
| Venezuela | Dayana Mendoza | 22 | Caracas |
| Vietnam | Nguyễn Thùy Lâm | 20 | Thái Bình |