(FOX)
Iris Mittenaere of France was crowned the 2016 Miss Universe pageant winner on Sunday. Mittenaere beat out 85 other contestants from around the world to win Miss Universe, which previously held by Mia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines. The event aired live from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, and was hosted by Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham. Check out the video below of Mittenaere being crowned.
Flo Rida and Boyz II Men gave musical performances during the Miss Universe pageant. “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Cynthia Bailey, fashion writer Mickey Boardman, producer Francine LeFrak and former Miss Universes Sushmita Sen and Dayanara Torres judged the Miss Universe 2016 pageant contestants from around the world. The women competed in evening gown, swimsuit, and interview competitions. Deshauna Barber of Washington, DC represented the United States as Miss USA.
Before the live show aired, the 86 contestants were narrowed down to 13 semi-finalists. Those women were Miss Kenya (Mary Were), Miss Indonesia (Kezia Warouw), Miss USA (Deshaun Barber), Miss Mexico (Kristal Silva), Miss Peru (Valeria Piazza), Miss Panama (Keity Drennan), Miss Colombia (Andrea Tovar), Miss Philippines (Maxine Medina), Miss Canada (Siera Bearchell), Miss Brazil (Raissa Santana), Miss France (Iris Mittenaere), Miss Haiti (Raquel Pelissier) and Miss Thailand (Chalita Suansane).
Following the swimsuit contest, the field was whittled down to nine contestants. They were Miss USA, Miss Thailand, Miss France, Miss Mexico, Miss Kenya, Miss Colombia, Miss Canada, Miss Haiti, and Miss Philippines. The contestant pool got smaller after the evening gown competition, after which the remaining six were Miss France, Miss Kenya, Miss Colombia, Miss Philippines, Miss Thailand, and Miss Haiti.
For the interview round, Miss Philippines was asked what the most significant change she’s seen in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, Miss Kenya had to answer what most excited and most concerned her about President Donald Trump. Miss Thailand was asked which world leader she most admired, and Miss France was questioned about whether countries are obligated to have open borders for refugees.
Then, Miss Haiti was faced with what she would march for. And Miss Colombia had to answer why she thought there was so much violence in our society. Following the interview round, it was just Miss France, Miss Colombia, and Miss Haiti. Next, those three finalists were asked what mistake they made in their lives, and what they learned from it.
Before announcing the winner of the Miss Universe 2016 pageant, it was revealed the second runner-up was Miss Colombia. It then came down to Miss France and Miss Haiti, and the 2016 Miss Universe is Iris Mittenaere of France. Below is video of Mittenaere being crowned Miss Universe.
