The Miss Universe beauty pageant was decided in Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat, and Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, was selected as the 70th Miss Universe from 80 entries. Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico gave her a crown, after which the 21-year-old Sandhu made her first catwalk on stage as the new Miss Universe. Given the timing and location of the competition, the pandemic and politics became two issues that Miss Universe could not avoid.
Sandhu.
India's third Miss Universe
Sandhu, a model from Chandigarh, India, has been working in the fashion industry for several years and is currently pursuing a master's degree in public administration. She describes herself as a staunch supporter of women's rights and said she took inspiration from Indian actress Priyanka Chopra. In his spare time, Sandhu enjoys yoga, dancing, cooking, horseback riding and chess.
Before Sandhu, a total of two Indian women had been named Miss Universe: Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. Sandhu has been participating in beauty contests since he was a teenager and has won titles such as Miss Chandigarh 2017 and Miss Max Nova India 2018. After winning the title of Miss Punjab India 2019, Sandhu entered the Miss India contest.
Three Miss Universe in India.
In a speech during the competition, Sandhu urged young people to know what makes themselves unique and not to compare themselves to others. "I believe in myself, and that's why I'm standing here today." After the results of the match were revealed, Sandhu shouted at the camera: "Chak de Phatte India", which roughly means "Come on, India!" ”
The Miss Universe contest consists of three sessions: traditional ethnic costumes, swimwear and Q&A. During the Q&A session, Sandhu, who was already in the top five, took the opportunity to give a paragraph about her views on climate change. "It's time to act and talk less," she said, "prevention and protection are better than repentance and repair." ”
Runners-up and runner-up in this year's competition were Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Miss Lalela Mswane. After the competition, Sandhu will settle in New York and will participate in various events around the world.
Boycott because of the host country
Like other international tournaments in Israel, miss universe this time was boycotted by some.
Miss Universe 2021 Top 3.
A Palestinian-led grassroots boycott campaign has urged participants to withdraw from the race in protest of Israel's unfair treatment of Palestinians. "We urge all contestants to withdraw to avoid complicity in Israel's apartheid regime and palestinian human rights violations."
Among this year's 80 entrants were Miss Morocco and Miss Bahrain, Muslim countries that resumed normal relations with Israel last year. Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, have not been represented this year, but the reasons given are the situation of the global epidemic, not Israel's human rights problems. Although the UAE also normalized relations with Israel last year, and the Israeli prime minister just paid a historic visit to it on the 12th, the UAE did not send a representative this time, on the grounds that there was not enough time to select the contestants.
Miss Universe traditional costume session.
The South African government withdrew its support for Miss Mswane of South Africa at the end of November, citing "well-documented Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians". However, Mswane, with the support of South African beauty pageants, chose to travel to Israel to compete. Former Miss Universe Mesa said in an interview with the media that beauty contests should stay away from politics. "Miss Universe is not a political movement, nor is it a religious movement. It has to do with women and what they have to offer. "That's also the attitude of the event organizers and some of the other contestants to the matter.
In fact, Miss Universe has also encountered controversy related to Israel before this. In 2015, Miss Lebanon,Saly Greige was seen in photos uploaded by Israeli Miss Doron Matalon. Lebanese citizens could be imprisoned under the law for contact with Israelis, as the two countries have been at war since 2006. Greg explains: "From the first day of my competition, I was very cautious to avoid taking photos or interacting with Miss Israel. She claimed Thatalon had "jumped in" into the photo uninvited.
Obstruction from a new round of the epidemic
This is the second Miss Universe pageant held since the epidemic. The 2020 competition was postponed to this year due to the epidemic, which resulted in only 7 months between the two competitions. An official from Israel's ministry of tourism said that earlier this year, the organizers of the event eventually chose Israel as the host country due to the success of Israel's vaccination program.
However, just as the contest was about to open, the new coronavirus mutant strain, Olmi kerong, began to become a global epidemic, and Israel closed its borders to foreign tourists at the end of last month. Most entrants entered Israel before the new rules came into force, and those who entered after that would be subject to mandatory 72-hour quarantine. Throughout the competition, all participants must undergo a nucleic acid test every 48 hours and strictly follow the requirement to wear a mask. Miss France, Clemence Botino, was diagnosed with the coronavirus shortly after arriving in Israel and was allowed to return to the race after 10 days of isolation and a negative test again.
In a statement ahead of the match, Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said he was happy that Miss Universe would be in Israel due to the pandemic. "Despite the challenges posed to us by the COVID-19 pandemic, we know how to maintain a balance between health and the economy and bring tourism back to Israel," Razvozov said. There is no doubt that the Miss Universe pageant is an important part of this program. ”
News and image source: CNN, People, NDTV, Philippine Star, Yahoo News, Al Jazeera, Hindustan Times
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