Harnaaz Sandhu of India wins Miss Universe pageant in Israel | Women’s News

Sandhu, a 21-year-old model, leads an area of ​​about 80 competitors in a competition affected by politics and pandemics.

Harnaaz Sandhu of India has been named the 70th Miss Universe, with around 80 contestants in a contest touched by politics and pandemics.

Mexican Miss Andrea of ​​the former Miss Universe crowned her successor, a 21-year-old model, on Sunday in the Israeli Red Sea town of Eilat.

The presentation was held in the middle of the night, ending at 05:00 local time (0300 GMT on Monday) to accommodate the first hour schedule in the United States.

The competition featured national costumes, swimsuits and a series of interview questions to test the contestants ’public speaking skills. The top 10 showed off full-length outfits, gold, silver or bronze.

Filipino Beatrice Luigi Gomez wore an asymmetrical one-sleeve cut dress and highlighted a new tattoo that “celebrated her femininity”.

Prior to Sandhu, two Indians won the Miss Universe title: Sushmita Sen Bollywood actress in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

Call for a boycott

The competition has attracted attention in recent weeks for a number of other reasons.

A Palestinian-led boycott movement called on competitors to skip the event to protest against Israel. treatment of Palestinians.

In the end, only Malaysia, a major Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the state of global COVID-19. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause, remove support about his involvement with the country’s representative.

In an interview last month, Mesa asked competitors to exclude politics from the competition, saying the rally was intended to bring together women from different backgrounds. “When you’re there, you forget about politics, your religion,” he told The Associated Press.

Sara Salansky, an official with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, said the country had been selected to host the competition this year as a result of Israel’s successful coronavirus vaccination program.

South African Lalela Mswane, left, Harnaaz Sandhu of India and Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay climbed to the top 3 in the Miss Universe pageant. [Ariel Schalit/AP]

The competition had a last-minute setback with the advent of the Omicron variant, forcing Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into force. But those who came later were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine.

Until Sunday’s competition, all contestants were tested for coronavirus every 48 hours and had to meet strict mask requirements.

Among all the guarantees, the French competitor, Clemence Botino, tested positive with COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Israel. After 10 days in custody, he was declared virus-free last week and allowed to re-enter the competition.

Last year’s competition was postponed due to the pandemic, before the Mass was crowned in May this year due to its shortened term.