The annual beauty pageant concluded on Saturday night in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, with Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua emerging as the 2023 Miss Universe. Thailand's Anntonia Porsild finished as first runner-up.
This year's Miss Universe featured contestants from 84 different national pageants. The judges consisted of model Halima Aden, Carson Kressley from "Queer Eye," Avani Gregg, a TikTok influencer, and two previous Miss Universe winners: Janelle Commissiong from Trinidad & Tobago (Miss Universe 1977) and Iris Mittenaere from France (Miss Universe 2016).
At the start of the competition on Saturday night, twenty semi-finalists were revealed based on the outcomes of the preliminary round (as well as an international fan vote). Following the swimsuit round, the number of competitors was reduced to 10, with the elimination of Miss Nepal, the first "curvy" contestant to advance to the semi-finals of the pageant, and Miss Pakistan, the first contestant to wear a burkini as their swimsuit. The number of contestants was once again halved during the evening gown round.
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| For the swimsuit round, Palacios donned a two-piece with delicate floral ruffles. |
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| Sheynnis Palacios, Miss Nicaragua, competes in the evening gown round. Her look featured ornate beading and an extravagant floor-length cape. |
After two rounds of hot topic Q&As, Palacios, Porsild, and Australian Moraya Wilson, the second runner-up, were the only three women still in the running.
In the last round, when asked to describe her ideal persona to spend a day with, Palacios selected the British feminist and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, who lived in the eighteenth century and broke down barriers to "give an opportunity to many women."
"Today, women have no boundaries," she continued through a translator.
Miss Colombia, Camila Avella, and Miss Puerto Rico, Karla Guilfú, rounded out the top five, while another member of the top 10, Spain’s Athenea Pérez, was crowned the pageant’s Miss Congeniality.
Palacios succeeds the 2022 Miss Universe, R’Bonney Gabriel of the USA.
