The Miss Universe competition was contested on the night of Saturday November 16 to Sunday November 17, 2024, in Mexico City, Mexico. In all, 128 candidates were in the running.
Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, Miss Denmark, was crowned Miss Universe. At the age of 21, this professional dancer beat 130 competitors, a record for the competition formerly owned by Donald Trump.
Frenchwoman Indira Ampiot, Miss France 2023, rose to 20e place and therefore enters the top 30 of the list. The last French woman to have won this title is Iris Mittenaere, Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais elected Miss France 2016 then Miss Universe 2016.
Candidate mothers, a first
This 73e edition was marked by the presence for the first time of candidates with children. There were ten of them, including Beatrice Njoya from Malta, aged 40 and mother of three children.
In 2023, the competition included married women, plus-size women and two transgender women.
Among the public favorites of this edition, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, Ileana Márquez, is also the mother of a daughter. This educator, model and TV presenter arrived in 5e position.
Among the twelve semi-finalists, Jennifer Colón, from Puerto Rico, is 36 years old and has three children. Also included was Logina Salah, an Egyptian model and 34-year-old single mother who suffers from vitiligo, an autoimmune disease.
Criticized for its promotion of outdated ideas about femininity, the competition has sought, after its takeover in 2022 by the Thai company JKN Global Group, to renew itself by opening its doors to women who were previously not allowed to participate .
A competition steeped in politics
JKN Global Group, led by transgender businesswoman Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, has since announced in January the sale of 50% of its shares to Mexico-based Legacy Holding for $16 million.
The Thai media group bought the famous competition in October 2022 for $20 million. But the company filed for bankruptcy with the Thai courts in November 2023.
In 2023 the competition was won by Nicaraguan Sheynnis Palacios, who has since unwillingly become the symbol of opposition to President Daniel Ortega, who saw hope in her global exposure.
Once she became the first Central American to win the beauty contest in November 2023 in San Salvador, the image of the 23-year-old young woman went viral on the social networks of thousands of Nicaraguan exiles and made the front page of the critical press. towards Ortega, described as “dictator” by the opposition.
