At the end of the event,
Demi-Leigh Tebow of South Africa crowned
Catriona Gray of the Philippines as Miss Universe 2018. It was the Philippines' fourth victory after their recent victory in
2015.[2][3]
Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of ninety-two in
2017 and marking the biggest turnout to date for Miss Universe as of 2024.[4] The pageant was hosted by
Steve Harvey in his fourth consecutive year, with supermodel
Ashley Graham.[4][5][6] Television personality
Carson Kressley and runway coach Lu Sierra provided commentary and analysis throughout the event.[4][7] American singer-songwriter
Ne-Yo performed in this year's pageant.[8]
Background
Location and date
The
Miss Universe Organization was in talks to host the pageant in China. Negotiations collapsed after the Chinese refused to broadcast the pageant live. Afterward, the Miss Universe Organization opened negotiations with the Philippines after they had previously hosted
Miss Universe 2016.[9]
In April 2018, then-
Secretary of TourismWanda Tulfo Teo spoke with
President of the PhilippinesRodrigo Duterte regarding the possibility of hosting the pageant in
Boracay in November 2018.[9] On 6 May 2018, Tulfo-Teo announced that the Philippines had a "90% chance" of hosting the pageant and also disclosed that the tourism department would be looking for sponsors since the LCS Holdings Inc. of
Chavit Singson, the major sponsor of
Miss Universe 2016, had declined to finance the 2018 pageant.[10] On 18 May 2018, Tulfo-Teo's successor
Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that the country dropped the hosting bid due to budget constraints and other concerns. Romulo-Puyat also pointed out that the Philippines had hosted the pageant recently, and had no reason to do so again so soon.[11]
Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Nine of these delegates were appointees to their titles after being a runner-up of their national pageant or an audition process or other internal selection.[13][14][15]
Ángela Ponce of Spain was the first openly
transgender delegate to compete in the pageant.[16][17][18] Despite not being one of the twenty semi-finalists, Ponce was recognized by the Miss Universe Organization for her historical importance during the competition.[19] The pageant rules were changed to allow transgender women to compete in 2012.[16][20][21]
The 2018 edition saw the debuts of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia and the returns of Belize, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, and Switzerland. Greece last competed in
Miss Universe 2015, and the others in
Miss Universe 2016.
Austria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Romania, Slovenia, and Tanzania withdrew after their respective organizations lost their Miss Universe license, failed to hold a national competition or designate a contestant.[25][26][27] Guyana was suspended from participating in Miss Universe due to a controversy involving "nasty emails" and "death threats" sent to the organization over a delegate issue in 2017. No license holder replaced the previous license holder, forcing the country to withdraw.[28][29] Trinidad and Tobago withdrew after they announced that there would be no pageant held, despite
Martrecia Alleyne having crowned as Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago 2018 at their 2017 national pageant.
Marie Esther Bangura of Sierra Leone arrived in Bangkok after registrations had ended, and was unable to participate due to visa and logistical concerns. However, she was allowed to participate in the pageant's activities and watch the competition from the audience. She was also invited to compete
in the next edition of the pageant.[30]
The number of semifinalists was increased to twenty— the same number of semifinalists in
2006. The results of the preliminary competition— which was composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competition and closed-door interviews, determined the twenty semifinalists. The continental format was retained, with five semifinalists from the Americas, Europe, Africa & Asia-Pacific, and wildcards coming from any continental region. The twenty semifinalists competed in the opening statement round, after which the judges narrowed down the semifinalists to ten, who then competed in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions. After the swimwear and evening gown competitions, the judges then selected the top five to compete in the preliminary question and answer round. After said segment, the judges selected the final three, who participated in the final word and final look portions.[34]
Selection committee
The seven judges for both the preliminary competition and the final telecast were an all-female panel which included:[35][36]
^
abThe event was held at 07:00
local time (
UTC+07:00); for the Americas, the day was still 16 December in their local times. However, the Eastern/Central primetime telecast was delayed by 30 minutes due to Fox NFL Sunday overruns.
At the end of the event,
Demi-Leigh Tebow of South Africa crowned
Catriona Gray of the Philippines as Miss Universe 2018. It was the Philippines' fourth victory after their recent victory in
2015.[2][3]
Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of ninety-two in
2017 and marking the biggest turnout to date for Miss Universe as of 2024.[4] The pageant was hosted by
Steve Harvey in his fourth consecutive year, with supermodel
Ashley Graham.[4][5][6] Television personality
Carson Kressley and runway coach Lu Sierra provided commentary and analysis throughout the event.[4][7] American singer-songwriter
Ne-Yo performed in this year's pageant.[8]
Background
Location and date
The
Miss Universe Organization was in talks to host the pageant in China. Negotiations collapsed after the Chinese refused to broadcast the pageant live. Afterward, the Miss Universe Organization opened negotiations with the Philippines after they had previously hosted
Miss Universe 2016.[9]
In April 2018, then-
Secretary of TourismWanda Tulfo Teo spoke with
President of the PhilippinesRodrigo Duterte regarding the possibility of hosting the pageant in
Boracay in November 2018.[9] On 6 May 2018, Tulfo-Teo announced that the Philippines had a "90% chance" of hosting the pageant and also disclosed that the tourism department would be looking for sponsors since the LCS Holdings Inc. of
Chavit Singson, the major sponsor of
Miss Universe 2016, had declined to finance the 2018 pageant.[10] On 18 May 2018, Tulfo-Teo's successor
Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that the country dropped the hosting bid due to budget constraints and other concerns. Romulo-Puyat also pointed out that the Philippines had hosted the pageant recently, and had no reason to do so again so soon.[11]
Contestants from ninety-four countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Nine of these delegates were appointees to their titles after being a runner-up of their national pageant or an audition process or other internal selection.[13][14][15]
Ángela Ponce of Spain was the first openly
transgender delegate to compete in the pageant.[16][17][18] Despite not being one of the twenty semi-finalists, Ponce was recognized by the Miss Universe Organization for her historical importance during the competition.[19] The pageant rules were changed to allow transgender women to compete in 2012.[16][20][21]
The 2018 edition saw the debuts of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia and the returns of Belize, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, and Switzerland. Greece last competed in
Miss Universe 2015, and the others in
Miss Universe 2016.
Austria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Romania, Slovenia, and Tanzania withdrew after their respective organizations lost their Miss Universe license, failed to hold a national competition or designate a contestant.[25][26][27] Guyana was suspended from participating in Miss Universe due to a controversy involving "nasty emails" and "death threats" sent to the organization over a delegate issue in 2017. No license holder replaced the previous license holder, forcing the country to withdraw.[28][29] Trinidad and Tobago withdrew after they announced that there would be no pageant held, despite
Martrecia Alleyne having crowned as Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago 2018 at their 2017 national pageant.
Marie Esther Bangura of Sierra Leone arrived in Bangkok after registrations had ended, and was unable to participate due to visa and logistical concerns. However, she was allowed to participate in the pageant's activities and watch the competition from the audience. She was also invited to compete
in the next edition of the pageant.[30]
The number of semifinalists was increased to twenty— the same number of semifinalists in
2006. The results of the preliminary competition— which was composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competition and closed-door interviews, determined the twenty semifinalists. The continental format was retained, with five semifinalists from the Americas, Europe, Africa & Asia-Pacific, and wildcards coming from any continental region. The twenty semifinalists competed in the opening statement round, after which the judges narrowed down the semifinalists to ten, who then competed in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions. After the swimwear and evening gown competitions, the judges then selected the top five to compete in the preliminary question and answer round. After said segment, the judges selected the final three, who participated in the final word and final look portions.[34]
Selection committee
The seven judges for both the preliminary competition and the final telecast were an all-female panel which included:[35][36]
^
abThe event was held at 07:00
local time (
UTC+07:00); for the Americas, the day was still 16 December in their local times. However, the Eastern/Central primetime telecast was delayed by 30 minutes due to Fox NFL Sunday overruns.