Miss Universe 2025


Miss Universe 2025 was the 74th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Challenger Hall in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 21 November 2025. The pageant was hosted by American standup comedian and actor Steve Byrne, with Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres and Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel serving as commentary hosts. Held during the one-year mourning period after the death of Sirikit, the former queen consort of Thailand, some of the contest's events were modified in accordance to government recommendations.
Leading up to the coronation night, the pageant attracted controversies involving the conduct of Thai pageant organizer, Nawat Itsaragrisil, in pageant events as well as legal disputes with the licensee Miss Universe Thailand. A number of judges exited the panel before the finals, including Omar Harfouch, who criticized the selection of the semifinalists and the eventual outcome.
At the end of the event, Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark crowned Fátima Bosch of Mexico as her successor, marking the country's fourth title in the pageant.

Background

Location and date

On 16 November 2024, at the Miss Universe 2024 finals, pageant co-owner Raúl Rocha announced that the shortlisted host countries for the 74th edition of the pageant were Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Morocco, India, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand.
The Miss Universe Organization announced Thailand as the host country on 7 February 2025, designating the Impact Challenger Hall in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, as the central venue with ancillary events scheduled for Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. The selection marks the fourth time that Thailand hosted the pageant, and the third time the event will be held in the said venue after the 2005 and 2018 pageants. On 23 April, Thai businessman, Nawat Itsaragrisil became the executive director of the pageant.
On 25 October, Itsaragrisil confirmed that the pageant will proceed as scheduled despite the one-year mourning period declared following the death of Sirikit, the former queen consort of Thailand, the day before. However, the organizers modified the pageant's format and its related activities in accordance with the recommendations of the Thai government to fit the "mourning atmosphere" of the period.

Selection of participants

Among the delegates, some were appointed to the position after being runner-up in their national pageant, or being chosen through a casting process, while four were selected to replace an original winner.
From June to July 2025, Telemundo aired the reality show Miss Universe Latina, el reality, in the United States, which selected an additional delegate representing Hispanic and Latina Americans in the country, designated as Miss Universe Latina. This addition marked the first time the pageant accepted an entrant not sent by a licensee representing a country nor a territory.

Replacements

Na Zhao of China and Latifah Morris of Trinidad and Tobago both assumed their national titles after the original winners, Xuhe Hou and Sihlé Letren, respectively, resigned from their roles. Déborah Djema of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was replaced by Dorcas Dienda, after she refused to sign a contract mandated by the national organization. In Poland, Miss Polski 2025, Oliwia Mikulska was replaced by Emily Reng, a new representative from Miss Polonia.

Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition marked the debuts of Cape Verde, Mayotte, Palestine, and Rwanda. The Palestinian debut received heightened media attention due to its timing amid the ongoing Gaza war, which had attracted extensive international discourse among experts and human rights organizations.
Returning countries for this edition included Iraq and Slovenia, which last competed in 2017; Sweden in 2021; Ghana and Haiti in 2022; and Kosovo, Panama, and South Africa in 2023. The national organizations of Bahrain, Cyprus, Eritrea, Fiji, Gibraltar, Kenya, Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Samoa, Somalia, and Uzbekistan, all failed to appoint a delegate or hold a national competition.
Leading up to the contest, Sahar Biniaz of Iran withdrew from the competition, citing concern for her national director's safety following reports of the director's detention in her country. Meanwhile, Josiane Golonga of Cameroon, Diana Fast of Germany, Zoulahatou Amadou of Niger, Iman Totic of North Macedonia and Chiara Wijntuin of Suriname did not arrive in the host country. Helena O'Connor of Iceland withdrew from the competition due to an illness, while Gabrielle Henry of Jamaica withdrew because of an injury sustained during the preliminary competition. Additionally, Flavia Harizaj of Albania did not appear in the final competition.

Results

Placements

§ – Voted into the Top 30 by viewers and awarded as ''People's Choice''

Continental Queens

On 24 November, Olivia Yacé of Côte d'Ivoire resigned her title as the continental queen of Africa and Oceania for personal reasons.
Continental GroupContestant
Africa & OceaniaCôte d'Ivoire

Special awards

AwardNational Director
Best National Pageant

Pageant

Format

Following the same format as the 2024 edition, 30 semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition—composed of the national costume presentation, swimsuit and evening gown competitions, and closed-door interviews. Pageant co-owner Raúl Rocha, who affirmed the continuation of the format, stated that it aims to ensure "fairness and transparency" in evaluating all contestants. The initial group of semifinalists will then compete in the swimsuit segment, from which twelve contestants will progress to the evening gown competition. Subsequently, five contestants will advance to the selection committee question-and-answer round. After which, three contestants will advance to final question-and-answer round, after which the winner and her two runner ups will be determined.
The winners of eight special awards and their runners-up were determined through online public voting through the Miss Universe and Zetrix mobile applications. With the Miss Congeniality award also contested in the polls, this edition marked the first time the winner of the award was decided through a public vote rather than a customary peer vote among the delegates.

Selection committee

Broadcast

With the theme "The Power of Love", the pageant will air on 21 November 2025 on the American Spanish-language TV network Telemundo. The program will also be made available for streaming on Peacock and AIS Play. American stand-up comedian and actor Steve Byrne served as the presenter with former titleholders Dayanara Torres and R'Bonney Gabriel providing commentary for the event. Thai musician Jeff Satur performed in the event.

Contestants

118 contestants competed for the title:
Country/TerritoryContestantAgeHometown
Angolasortname|Maria|Cunha|nolink=1

Controversies

Intellectual property dispute with Miss Universe Thailand

On 3 November 2025, the Miss Universe Organization stated that a "Special Dinner and Talk Show" event organized by Miss Universe Thailand was not officially authorized and violated MUO's intellectual property rights. Miss Universe Thailand Organization responded that the event and its associated online voting were part of Thailand's official marketing package as the host country, conducted transparently under their authorized rights, and that they had consulted legal advisors to assess potential impacts and prepare for possible legal action if necessary. However, the event was officially canceled on 6 November.

Casino promotion

On 3 November 2025, the Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok launched an investigation after Itsaragrisil, the chairman of the Miss Universe Thailand Host Committee, filed a complaint stating that MUO instructed contestants of the 74th Miss Universe pageant to film promotional materials for an online gambling website at their hotel, which may constitute a violation of Thai law. MGI denied any involvement and stated that the promotion was solely the responsibility of MUO. Itsaragrisil gave a statement to the police and formally denied wrongdoing.

Sash ceremony walkout

On 4 November 2025, during the sash ceremony event, Itsaragrisil reprimanded Mexico's Fátima Bosch for not participating in promotional events, implied her actions made her "dumb", and had her escorted out by security after she attempted to interrupt. Several other contestants walked out in solidarity. The reigning titleholder, Victoria Kjær Theilvig, also left the venue and said that Itsaragrisil's words had been "beyond disrespectful". Miss Universe owner Raúl Rocha later condemned Itsaragrisil's conduct as unacceptable, ordered the suspension of the sash ceremony, and announced that Itsaragrisil's role in official Miss Universe activities would be restricted, while CEO Mario Búcaro was sent to Thailand to coordinate with Miss Grand International to ensure the competition continues professionally and safely. Itsaragrisil issued a formal apology to all contestants during the welcoming ceremony, and denied using the words “dumb” or “dumb head,” stating that the word he actually used was “damage,” which means harm or loss.

Voting irregularities

Voting for the people's choice ended on November 19, but organizers suddenly extended the voting for Most Beautiful People without prior notice. The Philippines, Bangladesh, and other countries led the original results. Two days after the coronation, Miss Palestine released a video citing some irregularities in the voting procedure and claimed that it was tampered.

Resignations and results

Three members of the Miss Universe 2025 selection committee resigned before the final program.
French-Lebanese pianist composer, Omar Harfouch resigned from the Miss Universe 2025 judging panel three days before the pageant after alleging that a "clandestine" selection committee had chosen the top 30 finalists outside of the official judging process. He claimed the so-called impromptu group included individuals with personal relationships to contestants and that the real jury members were not present at its decision-making meeting. He also claimed that Mexico would win because of a deal between the co-owner of Miss Universe, Raúl Rocha, with Fátima Bosch's father, Bernardo Bosch. Bernardo Bosch is an advisor to the General Director of Pemex Exploration and Production. Raúl Rocha is also the owner of Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur, a gas company that received a contract from Pemex's subsidiary, Pemex Exploration and Production, for US$40 million in 2023. The Miss Universe Organization responded by denying the existence of such a committee and reaffirming that their established protocols remained in place while acknowledging Harfouch's withdrawal.
French football manager and former professional player, Claude Makélélé stepped down as well, citing personal reasons. Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, the president of the Miss Universe selection committee, also withdrew from the judging panel. Their decisions prompted the organization to adjust the final jury lineup and issue a brief message expressing respect for both resignations while confirming that the event would proceed with the revised panel.
Harfouch had an exclusive interview with HBO the day before the pageant that Miss Universe 2025 would be awarded to the Mexican candidate. He also posted a photo of an alleged "intimate" photo of Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha and winner Bosch building on his allegation that the results were rigged.

Aftermath

Amid the controversy over the results, judges Louie Heredia, Natalie Glebova, Andrea Meza, and Chalida Thaochalee lamented the absence of an accounting firm authenticating the scores for the competition. Online speculation that suggested host Steve Byrne announced the top five results in reverse led him to affirm that he announced the placement as given, but agreed with the sentiment that Yacé should have won.

Raúl Rocha statements

Raúl Rocha spoke in multiple interviews, including ones with journalists Adela Micha and Carlos Loret de Mola. Regarding the claims of a relationship between Rocha and Bernardo Bosch, Rocha stated that he met Bosch two months earlier for only thirty minutes and rejected the idea that the contracts awarded to his company were related to the victory, noting that they had been approved before he purchased Miss Universe. Rocha also said that, as an owner of Miss Universe, he has veto power, which he stated carries more weight than the contest juries, since Miss Universe is a business. He mentioned that Olivia Yacé, Miss Côte d’Ivoire, was not a favorable candidate to win because a lot of countries requires a visa for Ivorian citizens which will be a hindrance in fulfilling her duties as Miss Universe if she was awarded the crown.