Nicaragua Wins the Crown: Miss Universe Pageant 2023 Highlights

Source: The Hindu

On November 19, stunned in a silver gown with a striking blue cape, the 23-year-old queen of glamour was crowned in EI Salvador. Palacios’ accomplishment goes beyond beauty, representing a breakthrough and celebration of diversity. 

Her ability to beautifully address some of the most critical issues, from climate change to gender equality, during the question-and-answer segment proved her depth of understanding and commitment to social change, of course, which ultimately impressed the judges.

As Miss Universe 2023, she plans to use her achievement to advocate for causes close to her heart, establishing herself as a role model for young girls worldwide. 

Who won the Miss Universe 2023 final?

Now that you know who is the Miss Universe of 2023, you must be excited to know more about her, so let’s have a closer look at her background. 

The winner of Miss Universe 2023, Sheynnis Palacios was born in 2000, and she holds a degree in mass communication. Aside from her qualifications, Palacios has been also a sports enthusiast, having played volleyball for her university.

She usually prefers to be off the camera, but she’s started appearing in the spotlight because she believes in finding solutions for as many of the world’s problems as she can. That could be a reason why she decided to go through the communications program at her university by working in her mom’s snack business.

Her dedication to winning beauty contests appears from her beauty pageant debut in 2016, where she won the honors of Miss Teem Nicaragua 2016 and Miss World Nicaragua 2020. Also, this wasn’t the first time Palacios represented Nicaragua at the Miss World competition, she also competed for the Miss World 2021 pageant, reaching the top 40 finalists. 

With millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok, Sheynnis Palacios continues to inspire many people worldwide. In this global competition, Moraya Wilson from Australia got second runner-up place, while Anntonia Porsild from Thailand became the first runner-up.

When it comes to the candidates from the list of Miss Universe from India, Shweta Sharda from Chandigarh reached the top 20 finalists. Aside from modeling, she is a professional dancer and choreographer. There was also a captivating performance by 12-time Grammy winner John Legend at the event.

On the other hand Maria Menounos, alongside former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and Jeannie Mai, perfectly handled the hosting duties.

The Winning Answer

If you’re someone who was eagerly waiting for The Miss Universe 2023, you’ll be 100% interested in knowing what the final question that made Sheynnis Palacios win the prestigious crown. 
 

Source: WWD

The judge asked Palacios, “If you could live one year in another woman’s shoes, who would you choose and why?” In response, she gave a powerful speech saying, she would choose Mary Wollstonecraft because she opened the gap and gave an opportunity to many women. 

She continues saying that she would want that income gap to open up so women could work. Women can choose any field to work without any limitations for women. She lastly added, “That was 1750, now in 2023, we are making history.”

In case you don’t know, Mary Wollstonecraft was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. That perfectly explains why Palacios chose her. 

Her speech clearly won everyone’s hearts. Sheynnis had also won Miss Word Nicaragua 2020 and as mentioned earlier she also represented her country at the Miss World 2021 competition held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2022. As per Miss Universe, Palacios is a mental health activist and audiovisual producer from Managua, Nicaragua.

Who are the top 10 Miss Universe 2023?

Below is the list of the Top 10 Miss Universe 2023 finalists: 

• Miss Philippines, Michelle Dee
• Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios
• Miss Thailand, Anntonia Porsild
• Miss Puerto Rico, Karla Guilfú Acevedo
• Miss Colombia, Camila Avella
• Miss Australia, Moraya Wilson
• Miss Spain, Athenea Pérez
• Miss Peru, Camila Escribens
• Miss Venezuela, Diana Silva
• Miss El Salvador, Isabella García-Manzo

Miss Universe 2023 Highlights 

Aside from it being the first time a woman from Nicaragua won the Miss Universe title, there were many other things that made this event special. The global competition created a groundbreaking history by embracing inclusivity and representation through its diverse contestants.

While Miss Guatemala’s Michelle Cohn became the first mother to participate in this event, Miss Colombia Camila Avella is the first married contestant in the Miss Universe competition.

Additionally, Rikki Valerie Kollé is the first transgender person from Miss Netherlands to compete. Miss Universe, known for its conventional beauty standards also broke away from the norm as Miss Nepal Jane Dipika Garrett made history by becoming the first body-inclusive contestant.