The Miss Universe 2008 Heat is On...

The 57th Miss Universe beauty pageant, will be held at the Crown Convention Center (Diamond Bay Resort) in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008 where outgoing titleholder Riyo Mori of Japan will crown her successor. 80 contestants are expected to compete in the event which will be broadcast via NBC and Telemundo to TV outlets in more than 180 countries. The final presentation show is on July 8, the dress rehearsal on July 13 and the live telecast on July 14 (Manila time). Most activities are being held successively in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hoi An, Ha Long and finally Nha Trang.

The contestants shooting pageant swimsuit footages at the pool of Vinpearl Resort

Three special competitions were already held: One is the National Costume Competition last June 22 were 10 contestants were picked by Samsung (one of the sponsors) as the winners although the Best in National Costume Award will be determined by online votes. The other is the Best in Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài) during a fashion show held last June 24 were the 80 delegates donned the Áo dài in different designs. Venezuela's Dayana Mendoza easily snatched the award with her impeccable skills on the ramp. Could this be a prelude to the main title? Last July 2, a swimwear fasion show was held as the third of this year’s Miss Universe mini-competitions. The 80 contestants strutted on the catwalk in BSC swimsuits. The spectacular show ended with Mexico’s Elisa Najera headlining the top five girls – including Miss India, Miss USA, Miss Colombia, Miss Spain – at the event organized by Thanh Nien at the Vinpearl Land Resort on one of Vietnam’s most beautiful islands – Tre Island. Though this competition is not included in the preliminary judging score, the performaces of the delegates as well as the results already made an impression all the way to how the final outcome will be.

Misses Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, India, Mexico, Norway and Australia are among the current top picks of most online bettors and top pageant aficionados worldwide.

Misses Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania in their National Costumes

Venezuela

Bolivia

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

USA

The contestants in specially-designed Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài)

Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela winning the Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài) Competition

The Vinpearl Swimwear Fashion Show

Mexico's 6'0" tall Elisa Najera winning the Swimwear Fashion Show with others in the top 5 Miss India, Miss USA, Miss Colombia, Miss Spain

The Philippines is represented by the lovely 22-year old Jennifer Barrientos of San Mateo, Rizal. The 5’8” beauty, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, won the Bb Pilipinas-Universe title last March earning her the right to represent the country. Compared to the past Philippine delegates, Jennifer was not sent to Colombia for training. This young lady hopes to end the eight-year drought of the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant. The last placement was in 1999 when Miriam Quiambao was First Runner-up, the closest finish after Margie Moran in 1973.

The Mikimoto Crown(first worn by Russia's Oxana Federova in 2002)

The crown for Miss Universe 2008

For Miss Universe 2008 a new crown was unveiled. Rosalina Lydster, a Vietnamese-born jeweller now based in the US, created the crown for Miss Universe 2008. Valued at $120 thousand dollars, it is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance: The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown, which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece was designed to represent an important attribute of the pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity. But this Vietnamese crown will be used in this year's edition only and the Mikimoto crown will return next year.

The final leg of the preliminary competitions will be the Interview with the judges and the Presentation Show where the 80 contestants will be judged in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. The personality Interviews with the judges will be in July 6 and 7 and the Presentation Show will be on the 8th. After the scores of the judges and the Miss Universe staff in these 3 categories are averaged, the semi-finalists will be revealed on the Finals and Coronation to be held 8 AM where Jerry Springer and actress/singer Mel B will be hosts of the Final Event.The 2008 Miss Universe Pageant will be seen live on NBC (simulcast on Telemundo) from the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam on Sunday, July 13th at 9:00 p.m. EST (delayed PT). The Philippine live broadcast will be on ABS-CBN July 14, 9 AM.

Finals Night Hosts Jerry Springer and Mel B

PRELIMINARY PAGEANT JUDGES:
ROSALINA TRAN LYDSTER, Vietnamese Jeweler
ADEL CHABBI, French Hair Stylist
LEIGH ROSSINI, American Publicist
DEAN McFLIKER, Vice President of NBC Primetime Special Projects

FINALS NIGHT JUDGES:
JENNIFER HAWKINS, Miss Universe 2004 from Australia
NADINE VELASQUEZ, American actress and model
DONALD TRUMP JR., EVP of Trump Organization
ROBERTO CAVALLI, Italian Fashion Designer
LOUIS LICARI, Celebrity Hair Colorist

The reigning Miss Universe, Riyo Mori of Japan