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More than 50 countries have named their pageant representatives so far
Divita Rai, 23, winner of Miss Diva Universe 2022. Photo: Miss Diva
Katy Gillett Aug 29, 2022
The winner of Miss Universe 2022 is unlikely to be crowned until December or early next year — however, contestants are already lining up to compete.
This year marks the 71st Miss Universe pageant, although a date and location are yet to be announced. The reigning Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu, from India, will make way for her successor at the end of the event.
More than 50 countries far and wide, from the UK to Ukraine and Guatemala to Ghana, have named their representatives, with plenty more to be unveiled over the coming months.
Most recently, Miss Universe India, better known as Miss Diva, was announced on Sunday.
In the region, Miss Universe Bahrain will be named on September 11.
This month, winners from South Africa and Nepal have also been named, while in September pageants in Switzerland, Australia, Turkey, Spain and Italy will take place, to name a few.
The last to win her country's crown will be Miss Universe China in October.
In the meantime, here are a few of the contestants worth looking out for in this year's competition.
India
Divita Rai, an architect and model from Karnataka, won the Miss Diva contest on Sunday night.
Sandhu crowned her successor, who hopes to now become the fourth contestant from India to bag the Miss Universe title.
The Miss Diva pageant was not Rai's first rodeo, having participated in the contest last year and placed second after current Miss Universe Sandhu. In 2019, Rai also took part in the Karnataka state competition for Femina Miss India, which sends India's representative to the Miss World pageant, and placed in the top three.
Standing 1.8 metres tall, Rai, who lives in Mumbai, is already an established model, having walked at a number of fashion weeks across the country.
Nepal
Sophiya Bhujel was crowned Oriflame Miss Universe Nepal on August 27 in the grand finale held at Hotel Yak & Yeti, Kathmandu.
Sujita Basnet crowned Bhujel, 26, as her successor at the end of the event.
The professional model and social media influencer is no stranger to pageants, having also won Miss Eco International Nepal this year, as well as performing at Miss Nepal 2019. She also represented her home country at the Global Asian Model 2019.
South Africa
Ndavi Nokeri, winner of Miss Universe South Africa 2022. All photos: Miss South Africa
Ndavi Nokeri, winner of Miss Universe South Africa 2022. All photos: Miss South Africa
Ndavi Nokeri was named Miss South Africa 2022 on August 13 in a glitzy ceremony in Pretoria.
Sandhu championed a local designer at the show, as she attended in a bright orange, plunging fitted gown with a sweeping cape by South African fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee that turned heads on the red carpet.
Nokeri, 23, is from Tzaneen in Limpopo and is an investment management graduate. Miss South Africa 2021 Lalela Mswane was there to crown her predecessor at the event, which took place in Time Square's SunBet Arena.
Thailand
Anna Sueangam-iam, 23, was named Miss Universe Thailand 2022 in a pageant at True Icon Hall in Bangkok on Saturday.
The daughter of former bin collectors, Sueangam-iam, who has a degree in hotel and tourism management, was crowned by her predecessor Anchilee Scott-Kemmis and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, beating 28 other women on the night.
During the final Q&A session, Sueangam-iam asked what she would do to empower people who "feel hopeless". “You’re not the only ones facing despair,” she replied. “I used to be in despair too. We learn from our troubles to adapt and survive. I would call on all of you to have confidence in yourselves and rise to fight again. If I can, so can you.”
A new crown crafted by luxury jeweller Mouawad called Power of Resilience was also unveiled; Sueangam-iam won 1 million baht ($27,663), an apartment and new car.
Iraq
Balsam Hussein when she was declared as Miss Iraq 2022 on 28 July 2022. Azhar Al-Rubaie for The National
Balsam Hussein when she was declared as Miss Iraq 2022 on 28 July 2022. Azhar Al-Rubaie for The National
TV presenter Balsam Hussein, 26, a former hair-transplant specialist, was crowned Miss Iraq 2022 at a beauty contest held in Erbil, capital of the northern Kurdish region, last month.
Hussein was among 19 contestants from across the country who were vying for the title and a chance to represent Iraq at the Miss World and Miss Universe events.
Launched in 1947, the Miss Iraq contest was suspended for more than four decades in 1973 because of political upheaval and wars, and resumed only in 2015. The country last competed in 2017.
Hussein represented the Al Karakh district of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital where she was born and raised.
Lebanon
Miss Lebanon 2018 Maya Reaidy crowns Yasmina Zaytoun, winner of the 2022 pageant, in Beirut. EPA
Miss Lebanon 2018 Maya Reaidy crowns Yasmina Zaytoun, winner of the 2022 pageant, in Beirut. EPA
Yasmina Zaytoun was crowned Miss Lebanon 2022 in a glittering ceremony in Beirut last month. The pageant was the first to take place since 2018 in the country.
Zaytoun, who is from Kfarchouba, a village in southern Lebanon, is a journalism student, studying at Notre Dame University — Louaize. She is currently in the third year of her course.
As well as doing some modelling, she hosts the With Yasmina Show on Instagram, which she describes as an educational show and on which she interviews notable Lebanese media and sports personalities.
"This is the best thing that happened in my life ... my dream has finally come true," Zaytoun said on stage, after being crowned Miss Lebanon. "I dedicate my victory to my parents, for sure."
United Kingdom
The latest beauty queen to be crowned is Noky Simbani, 25, who won the Miss Universe Great Britain contest on July 9.
Simbani is from Derby, and holds a master's in engineering. She currently works in finance. In 2017, she represented England in the Miss Grand International pageant. Speaking at the time, Simbani said she was grateful for the platform pageantry had given her to help support local charitable organisations within her community.
Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau, 27, won the Miss Universe Vietnam contest on June 25.
The model, and winner of Vietnam's Next Top Model 2016, is from the southern province of Tay Ninh. She was crowned at the pageant's finale with Sandhu and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray in attendance.
Chau is no stranger to pageants, having also won Miss Supranational Vietnam 2018 and Miss Supranational Asia 2019.
On Saturday, she also won the Best Body award and the ecology and environment ambassador title, according to local media.
Ukraine
Due to the war in Ukraine, the traditional Miss Universe Ukraine pageant was not held. However, a winner was still announced in a bid to draw attention to the Russian offensive in the country.
Viktoria Apanasenko, 27, who was the first runner-up at Miss Universe 2021, will represent her home nation at the global contest.
She's a professional model and volunteer, with a degree in social work, who's helping to provide food and medicine to vulnerable people. "She chose this profession because she has always had a sincere desire to help solve social problems and to be able to support vulnerable populations," said Miss Universe Ukraine in a statement on social media.
Philippines
Celeste Cortesi has been named Miss Universe Philippines 2022. All photos: Miss Universe Philippines 2022
Celeste Cortesi has been named Miss Universe Philippines 2022. All photos: Miss Universe Philippines 2022
Filipino-Italian beauty queen Celeste Cortesi was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022 in a ceremony at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila in April.
Cortesi, 24, a representative for Pasay City, was born on December 15, 1997, to a Filipino mother and Italian father, and was raised in Italy before moving to the Philippines five years ago to pursue a career in pageantry.
The professional model, who is training to become a property agent, also won the Miss Philippines Earth title in 2018. She went on to represent the country at Miss Earth, where she placed in the top eight finalists.
She is the third Filipina to win two major national crowns, joining Carlene Aguilar, who was named Miss Philippines Earth 2001 and Miss World Philippines 2005, and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, who was also Miss World Philippines 2016.
Bhutan
Bhutan is marking its pageant debut this year and Tashi Choden, from Wangdue Phodrang, is the country's first beauty queen.
Choden, 23, was crowned on June 4 after the competition ended in Thimphu. The professional model was also named best in three categories, including evening gown and ramp walk.
“Winning this pageant is a legitimate platform where I can advocate on social issues and talk to young women and try to empower them and try to make them believe in themselves more because I had a hard time believing in myself and look where I am right now,” Choden said, according to local news site BBS.
Seychelles
The first and last time Seychelles competed in Miss Universe was 1995 and after that 27-year hiatus, Gabriella Gonthier, from Mahe, will be representing her home country.
Gonthier, 24, is a model and monitoring and evaluation officer for the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy.
"She believes in creating a beautiful life rather than to wait for one and lives her life to the fullest as every single moment should be cherished; regardless of the situation," read a statement from Miss Universe Seychelles.
"Gabriella is a girl with vision and dreams, determined to make them a reality."
South Korea
Hanna Kim, from Seoul, will represent South Korea in the next pageant. Kim was appointed by Miss Queen Korea, the national beauty pageant responsible for selecting the country's representative for Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Supranational.
Kim, 26, is a woman of many talents. A professional fashion model, she's also a linguist, an interpreter and a classical ballet dancer.
South Korea's participation in the pageant dates back decades, but the country has not yet had a winner.
Canada
Amelia Tu, from Vancouver, is Canada's winning beauty queen this year.
Tu, 20, who is Chinese-Canadian, is currently studying biology and business at the University of California, Berkeley. She's no stranger to pageants, having competed in Rose Queen and Princess Pageant in Oregon state, and being crowned the 2020 Miss Chinese Rose Princess.
She's particularly passionate about sustainability and raising awareness of environmental issues, according to her biography on the Miss Universe Canada website.
"Although she has a vast variety of interests, her all-time favourite hobby would have to be exploring different genres of dance," the website states.
Ghana
Miss Universe Ghana 2022, Engracia Afua K Mofuman, was one of the first women to be crowned for the 71st pageant, as she won the title on December 21, succeeding reigning queen Naa Morkor Commodore.
The 176-centimetre-tall beauty has been on official pageant duties ever since, leading story times for children and meeting VIPs and ambassadors on the organisation's behalf.
Mofuman, 27, has participated in pageants before, competing at Miss Intercontinental 2018, where she came in the top 20.
A model, Mofuman is also quite the linguist and can speak fluent French, Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Indonesia
Laksmi Shari De Neefe Suardana took the Puteri Indonesia 2022 crown at the end of May, becoming the first contestant from Bali to enter Miss Universe.
The fashion designer, author, Unicef activist and model defeated 43 other finalists from 34 provinces in Indonesia, stunning the jury with her performance, according to CNN Indonesia.
Suardana, 26, was born in Melbourne to an Australian mother and Balinese father. Together with her parents, she has worked since 2004 to boost tourism in Bali through the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.
She also dabbled in acting in 2010 when she appeared as an extra in the hit film Eat Pray Love.
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