Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held on January 30, 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. After waiting 63 years, this is the second time France has won the Miss Universe title, following Christiane Martel in 1953. This is also Europe's first win in 26 years, as the last European Miss Universe was the Norwegian Mona Grudt who was crowned on the 1990 pageant. 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. Background. Negotiations. The agreement to host the pageant in the Philippines was signed on November 16, 2016. This agreement, made between the Miss Universe Organization, the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and the LCS Group of Companies, was the result of negotiations that began about four months earlier. Discussions began on July 18, 2016, when Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Although Duterte was open to the idea of having the pageant hosted by  the Philippines, he did not want the government to pay the expense of doing so (but a government spokesperson later said that some "services" would be provided for the event). About two weeks after the meeting, the Department of Tourism announced that the Philippines would be the host. A spokesperson for the Department said that, according to Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart, the Philippines was the organization's prime choice for hosting the pageant, although other countries were being considered. Despite the statement made by the Department of Tourism, the final decision to hold the pageant in the Philippines  had not yet been made and, over the next few months, the Miss Universe Organization had changed its mind several times on the matter. Initial reports did not disclose the reasons for the breakdowns in negotiations, but a later report linked the Organization's concerns with Duterte's controversial remarks regarding U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as his plans to separate ties between the Philippines and the United States. These statements were not received well by the William Morris Entertainment/International Marketing Group (WME), the owners of the Miss Universe franchise. Duterte's statement that he would be glad  to kill as many drug addicts as Adolf Hitler killed Jews during the Holocaust led to WME executive Ziv Emanuel (brother of Rahm Emanuel) to cancel the talks. Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, who was also chairman of the LCS Group, sent representatives, including some Jewish friends, to the United States to persuade Emanuel to maintain his interest in a Philippines-hosted event. Duterte's later apology for his Holocaust-related remark helped in the renegotiation. Also helpful was Singson's offer to add women-empowerment programs to the pageant. The Miss Universe Organization's final decision came on November  3, 2016, when Wurtzbach announced via a video message that the Philippines would be the host. The partnership agreement was signed on November 16 and, on that same day, the pageant's official website and Facebook page were launched. 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 then-Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo. This venue also held the coronation night of Miss Earth 2016. The Philippine Arena in Santa Maria and 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". Other aspects. The funds needed to stage the pageant in the country came entirely from private businesses. Among the reported sponsors were Philippine Airlines, the SM Group, Solar Entertainment, Filipino billionaire Henry Sy and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada. The Okada Manila would serve as the residential venue for the Miss Universe 2016 candidates. The projected expense for the event was US$11 million. The candidates were expected to arrive on January 13, 2017. The Philippine military were assigned  by the Philippines national security council to serves as security escorts. 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. Results. Placements. § - Voted in the Top 13 by viewers 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. Ten contestants from Asia Pacific and Miss Deshauna Barber 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, 2017 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, 2017 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. Final program. The pageant program was initially announced to start at 5:00 a.m. () but it  was later announced that the program was to run from 8:00 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 it was reported that "all local networks" including GMA Network, TV5, and ABS-CBN 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. Performers. American entertainers Flo Rida and Boyz II Men were the musical performers at the final program of the pageant. Format. The 12 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 candidates of France, Colombia and Thailand used a language interpreter. The final three was then announced and all were asked the same question; They were asked regarding a failure over the course of their life and how they dealt with it. 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 , 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. Contestants. 86 contestants competed for the title of Miss Universe 2016: Johanna Acs (Top 15) Miss Universe 2016