Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Venezuela among Miss Universe semifinalists

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In addition to these three young women, among the main favorites to win the beauty pageant, participants from Panama and Colombia also qualified for the semifinals.

The representatives of the United States, Bahamas, France, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, India, Philippines, Aruba, South Africa and Vietnam will be the remaining competitors.

The list was announced today by American Steve Harvey, who once again hosted the contest, preceded by a performance by Israeli singer Noa Kirel.

The decision was made by a jury of seven women, including the famous Brazilian model Adriana Lima, although one of the 16 semi-finalists was chosen by popular vote.

After this first selection, 64 participants were eliminated, including the Spanish representative and several Latin American women.

The ceremony was held at the Universe Arena in Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city, on the shores of the Red Sea and bordering Egypt and Jordan.

This is the first time that Israel organizes the pageant, reaching its 70th edition this year.

Due to the restrictions implemented by the Israeli government to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which includes a ban on the entry of tourists, yesterday’s gala was held in a half-filled stadium and without the expected flow of foreign tourists.

Whoever wins the crown today will end the shortest reign in the history of Miss Universe, as the last edition was deferred last year due to the pandemic and was held in March this year in Florida, United States.

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