Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was named Miss Universe on Sunday, at the 70th annual Miss Universe event hosted in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat.
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The competition was a historic one: It was the first time the Jewish state hosted the iconic pageant. It also marked the first time that a delegate from the United Arab Emirates has competed, and the first time in over 40 years that Miss Morocco returned to the pageant.
Sandhu, 21, beat out 79 other contestants from around the world in the race for the crown, becoming the third Indian woman to hold the title following Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira was named the first runner-up and second the runner-up is Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.
Sandhu was presented the crown by Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza.
The new Miss Universe is...India!!!! #MISSUNIVERSE pic.twitter.com/DTiOKzTHl4
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 13, 2021
The iconic competition, hosted by Steve Harvey, featured 80 contestants vying for the tile of the most beautiful woman in the world. The evening featured the traditional evening gown segment, as well as an interview portion, which proved controversial when Harvey asked Sandu – a strong advocate for women's empowerment in India and around the world – "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Let's hear your best one."
Sandhu responded with a cat's meow from the stage that went viral on social media immediate, while Harvey received some criticism on Twitter for the question.
Miss India wins for best answer! #India #MissIndia #Caturday #CatsOfTwitter #MissUniverse #MissUniverse2021 #meow #meowed pic.twitter.com/tbgwkjMsOe
— Jennifer Su (Jen Su) (@jennifer_su) December 13, 2021
"What a ridiculous first question was that? Miss India had so much more to say," said one Twitter fan, while another noted, "Miss India meowing at Steve Harvey is not what I was expecting to see tonight. Pretty sure the Miss Universe organization could have asked a better question… very frustrating but she was nothing if not confident."
Sunday's show marked the first time that Harvey, 64, returned to the Miss Universe competition since his Miss Universe 2015 fiasco in which he had announced the wrong winner, naming then-Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner when it was actual Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
In a statement prior to Sunday's competition Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said he was thrilled to welcome Miss Universe to his country.
"Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed in our path, we knew how to maintain the balance between health and the economy, to bring tourism back to Israel," Razvozov said. "We needed to create tourism anchors that will promote and present Israel to the world as a vaccination nation that invites tourists to visit. The Miss Universe pageant is, without [a] doubt, an important and significant anchor of this plan."
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