Miss Universe 2000 was the 49th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 12 May 2000.
At the conclusion of the event, Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana crowned Lara Dutta of India as Miss Universe 2000. It is the country's second victory in the pageant's history after Sushmita Sen won in 1994.
Contestants from seventy-nine countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Sinbad, with Miss USA 1996 Ali Landry and Julie Moran providing commentary and analysis throughout the event. Elvis Crespo, Dave Koz, Montell Jordan, and Anna Vissi performed in this year's pageant.
Background
Location and date Nicosia was announced as host city of the pageant on 1 July 1999. The country invested $3.5 million in the event, in the hope that the publicity would increase tourism, the island's main industry.
Conservative Cypriot church leaders protested the decision to hold the pageant on the island, claiming that millennium celebrations of the birth of Christ were more important and that the event was scandalous and would promote female nudity.
Selection of participants Seventy-nine countries and territories competed in the pageant. Four candidates were appointed to their position to replace the original winner.
Replacements Miss Universe Hungary 2000 first runner-up Izabella Kiss replaced Miss Universe Hungary 2000 Ágnes Nagy as the representative of their country for personal reasons. Miss Italia 1999 Manila Nazzaro was slated to compete in this edition. However, the Miss Italia Organization lost their Miss Universe license due to objections of the Miss Universe Organization that the contest was opened to married women and mothers, and the license was transferred to Italian actress Clarissa Burt who organized The Miss for Miss Universe contest which will select the new Italian representative to Miss Universe. Annalisa Guadalupi won the pageant. Miss Russia 1999 first runner-up Svetlana Goreva was appointed to represent Russia as Miss Russia 1999 Anna Kruglova is underage, and Miss Russia 1997–1998 Yelena Rogozhina won the Miss Europe 1999 contest.
Initially, Miss Venezuela 1999 Martina Thorogood was chosen to represent their country at both Miss Universe and Miss World 1999. However, Miss Universe officials objected to this as Thorogood placed first runner-up at Miss World 1999 and there was a chance that she could become Miss World should the winner resign or lose her crown. Miss Universe officials also objected the participation of Miss Venezuela 1999 first runner-up Norkys Batista because she was not the national official titleholder. Finally, a smaller pageant was held among delegates who had competed in previous Miss Venezuela competitions, and Claudia Moreno was chosen to compete at Miss Universe.
Returns and withdrawals This edition marked the returns of Sint Maarten who last competed in 1982; Denmark who last competed in 1996, and Bulgaria, Guam, the Netherlands, Norway, and Zimbabwe who last competed in 1999.
Austria, Barbados, Bonaire, Guyana, Nicaragua, Suriname, and the United States Virgin Islands withdrew for undisclosed reasons. Miss Cook Islands 1999, Liana Scott, and Miss Zambia 2000, Sidonia Mwape, withdrew due to lack of sponsorship. Miss Curaçao 2000, Jozaïne Wall, withdrew for being underage. Michelle Boyer Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands withdrew for personal reasons. Miss Turkey 2000 first runner-up, Gamze Özçelik was replaced by Cansu Dere for being underage. However, Dere was forbidden by the Turkish government to travel to the Miss Universe 2000 pageant in Cyprus, due to the current tense Turkish-Cypriot relationships over Northern Cyprus.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 2000 – Lara Dutta 1st Runner-Up – Claudia Moreno 2nd Runner-Up – Helen Lindes Top 5 – Kim Yee – Lynnette Cole Top 10 – Catalina Acosta – Evelyn Mikomägi – Sonia Rolland – Heather Hamilton – Corinne Crewe
Special awards Award Contestant Best National Costume Mexico – Leticia Murray Miss Photogenic – Helen Lindes Miss Congeniality Aruba – Tamara Scaroni
Pageant
Selection committee
Final telecast Source: Tony Robbins Catherine Bell André Leon Talley Kim Alexis Cristián de la Fuente Debbie Allen Serena Altschul
Contestants Seventy-nine contestants competed for the title. Country/TerritoryContestantAgeHometown AngolaEunice Manita19Luanda ArgentinaAndrea Nicastri25Buenos Aires ArubaTamara Scaroni23San Nicolaas AustraliaSamantha Frost22Sydney BahamasMikala Moss24Nassau BelgiumJoke Van de Velde20Ghent BelizeShiemicka Richardson26Belize City BoliviaYenny Vaca18Santa Cruz de la Sierra BotswanaJoyce Molemoeng21Orapa BrazilJosiane Kruliskoski20Sinop British Virgin IslandsTausha Vanterpool22Tortola BulgariaMagdalina Valchanova22Plovdiv CanadaKim Yee22Edmonton Cayman IslandsMona Lisa Tatum22George Town ChileFrancesca Sovino21Valparaíso ColombiaCatalina Acosta22Bogotá Costa RicaLaura Mata22San José CroatiaRenata Lovrinčević23Split CyprusChristy Groutidou19Nicosia Czech RepublicJitka Kocurová20Prague DenmarkHeidi Meyer Vallentin23Copenhagen Dominican RepublicGilda Jovine20Santo Domingo EcuadorGabriela Cadena20Guayaquil EgyptRania El-Sayed18Cairo El SalvadorAlexandra Rivas20San Salvador EstoniaEvelyn Mikomägi20Tallinn FinlandSuvi Miinala19Kemi FranceSonia Rolland18Cluny GermanySabrina Schepmann18Nauen GhanaMaame Esi Acquah18Cape Coast Great BritainLouise Lakin21Manchester GreeceEleni Skafida21Athens GuamLisamarie Quinata22Hagåtña GuatemalaEvelyn López21Guatemala City HondurasFlor Garcia19San Pedro Sula Hong KongSonija Kwok25Hong Kong HungaryIzabella Kiss24Budapest IndiaLara Dutta22Bengaluru IrelandLouise Doheny19Dublin IsraelNirit Bakshi18Beersheba ItalyAnnalisa Guadalupi18Rome JamaicaSaphire Longmore24Clarendon JapanMayu Endo24Tokyo LebanonNorma Elias Naoum23Beirut MalaysiaLynette Ludi25Kuching MaltaJolene Arpa18Santa Luċija MauritiusJenny Arthemidor18Port Louis MexicoLeticia Murray20Hermosillo NamibiaMia de Klerk20Khomas NetherlandsChantal van Roessel25North Brabant New ZealandTonia Peachey19Auckland NigeriaMatilda Kerry19Lagos NorwayTonje Kristin Wøllo25Buskerud PanamaAnalía Núñez19Panama City ParaguayCarolina Ramírez20Alto Paraná PeruVerónica Rueckner19Piura PhilippinesNina Ricci Alagao22Makati PolandEmilia Raszynska21Warmia-Masuria PortugalLicinia Macedo24Madeira Puerto RicoZoribel Fonalledas22Guaynabo RussiaSvetlana Goreva18Moscow SingaporeEunice Olsen22Singapore Sint MaartenAngelique Romou26Philipsburg SlovakiaMiroslava Kysucká19Bratislava South AfricaHeather Hamilton22Gauteng South KoreaKim Yeon-joo19Seoul SpainHelen Lindes18Girona SwedenValerie Aflalo23Malmö SwitzerlandAnita Buri21Berg TaiwanLei-Ann Chang22Taipei ThailandKulthida Yenprasert21Bangkok Trinidad and TobagoHeidi Rostant22Port of Spain Turks and Caicos IslandsClintina Gibbs20Cockburn Town UkraineNatalie Shvachko24Dnipropetrovsk United StatesLynnette Cole22Columbia UruguayGiovanna Piazza18Montevideo VenezuelaClaudia Moreno22Caracas YugoslaviaLana Marić19Belgrade ZimbabweCorinne Crewe18Harare
Notes
References
External links
Miss Universe official website