Miss Universe Pageant Palace - Where the Miss Universe Really Reigns!

The Miss Universe 2001 Pageant was held at Bayamon, Puerto Rico -- the home of three (3) Miss Universe Titleholders: Miss Universe 1970 - Marisol Malaret Contreras, Miss Universe 1985 - Debora Carthy Deu, and Miss Universe 1993 - Dayanara Torres. By the way, this year is the Golden Anniversary of the Miss Universe Pageant.

There are many events that already took place in Puerto Rico. The candidates toured some places in the country.

Anyway, the National Costume Presentation was held. The judges chose three winners for the event: Best in National Costume, 1st Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up. Here are the winners:

1st Runner-Up

Miss Philippines

Zorayda Ruth Andam

Best in National Costume

Miss Korea

Sa-Lang Kim

2nd Runner-Up

Miss Honduras

Olenka Fuschich

The Miss Universe Organization also did something new. This year, the pageant let the site visitors of the Official Site of Miss Universe choose Miss Photogenic. After days of voting, the site visitors chose:

To begin with the Coronation Night Coverage, let's talk about the Pageant Production. Although it was the 50th Anniversary of Miss Universe, the atmosphere was not set. There was nothing special about the set, but they changed something about the format of the pageant. If you haven't watched the pageant, you'll know what it was as you read on this coverage.

The Pageant started with an opening number by Ricky Martin. Personally, I don't think it was appropriate. It looked like a "Ricky Martin Concert". The focus should be on the candidates.

So, after the opening number by Ricky Martin, he introduced the two hosts of the Pageant. Elle Mcpherson and Naomi Campbell. They both look gorgeous, but I think they didn't do a good job. I think male hosts do it better.

The Candidates paraded in their National Costumes and one by one, they shouted their country's names! The presentation of each candidate was not in alphabetical order, but by regions. This is how the candidates were introduced:

South America	Europe	Asia and South Pacific	Mediterranean
Argentina	Belgium	India	Croatia
Bolivia	Bulgaria	Japan	Cyprus
Brazil	Czech Republic	Korea	Egypt
Chile	Estonia	Malaysia	Greece
Colombia	Finland	New Zealand	Israel
Ecuador	France	Northern Marianas	Lebanon
Paraguay	Germany	Philippines	Malta
Peru	Hungary	Singapore	Slovak Republic
Uruguay	Ireland	Taiwan	Slovenia
Venezuela	Italy	Thailand	Turkey
	Netherlands		Yugoslavia
	Norway
	Poland
	Portugal
	Spain
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	Ukraine
	Russia

Africa	North and Central America	Caribbean
Angola	Canada	Antigua and Barbuda
Botswana	Mexico	Aruba
Ghana	USA	Bahamas
Nigeria	Costa Rica	British Virgin Island
South Africa	El Salvador	Cayman Island
Zimbabwe	Guatemala	Curacao
	Honduras	Dominican Republic
	Nicaragua	Jamaica
	Panama	Trinidad and Tobago
		Turks and Caicos
		US Virgin Island
		Puerto Rico

After the presentation of the 77 Candidates, the announcement of the Ten Semi-Finalists was next. Before that Elle Mcpherson noted that Miss Universe 1997, Brook Lee was there that night.

Spain

Eva Siso Casals

Venezuela

Eva Ekvall

Nigeria

Agbani Darebo

Israel

Ilanit Levi

Greece

Evelina Papantoniou

India

Celina Jaitley

Russia

Oxana Kalandyrets

USA

Kandace Krueger

France

Elodie Gossuin

Puerto Rico

Denise Quiñones August

The Miss Universe 2001 Ten Semi-Finalists (from left to right): Miss Spain-Eva Siso Casals, Miss Nigeria-Agbani Darebo, Miss Greece-Evelina Papantoniou, Miss Russia-Oxana Kalandyrets, Miss France-Elodie Gossuin, Miss Puerto Rico-Denise M. Quiñones August, Miss USA-Kandace Krueger, Miss India-Celina Jaitley, Miss Israel-Ilanit Levi, and Miss Venezuela-Eva Ekvall

This year's Semi-Finalists were very predictable. I was surprised to see Israel, Russia and France in the group. The rest were expected. I don't know what happened to Colombia, South Africa and Philippines. They were at least expected to be in the top ten.

Anyway, the Swimsuit Competition was the next event. I think the Swimsuit Competition was the longest event because of several interruptions. I think that was inappropriate. It was like the Miss USA Pageant 2001.

Let's move on. The Ten Semi-Finalists competed in their swimsuits. Here they are:

The first candidate to show off was Miss Spain. Eva Siso Casals has the body and I believe she knows how to work the stage, but I think she lacked confidence. Miss Venezuela was next. Eva Ekvall was really great! She has the body and all. And she knows how to navigate the stairs. Plus, she showed off really well. I think she should've been given a higher score. Then comes Miss Nigeria. Agbani Darebo was the only candidate among the ten semi-finalists who chose to wear a one-piece swimsuit. I think that did not favor her. She looked great, but I think she should've practiced walking.

Actually, after Miss Venezuela, Eva Ekvall, there was an interruption. Let's just finish the Swimsuit Competition. So, Miss Israel was next. Ilanit Levi did a fair job on walking, but she needs some practice on posing when taking her mark. It's Miss Greece's turn. Evelina Papantoniou was G-R-E-A-T. She has the body, looks and the talent! She should've gotten the highest score! Next, was Miss India. Celina Jaitley did a good job. I think she's just not good in projecting herself.

Then comes Miss Russia. There's nothing wrong with the way Oxana Kalandyrets worked the stage, but I think she was a "walking contradiction . . . literally". I think she was trying to be sexy and sweet at the same time. It's now Miss USA's turn. Kandace Krueger did the same thing like what she did during the Miss USA Pageant. Next comes Miss France. Somebody should've taught Elodie Gossuin how to model. I think she broke her arm. It's like she couldn't move it. It's annoying.

Last, but not the least, Miss Puerto Rico. Denise Quiñones did a great job, but I think she was overrated. I can't believe Marc Anthony and her wife Dayanara Muñiz Torres gave Denise same scores. They both gave Denise 9.85! Something fishy went on (just kidding!).

This ends the Swimsuit Competition. And the Best in Swimsuit was Miss Puerto Rico!

Before we proceed with Evening Gown Competition, one of the interruptions during the Swimsuit Competition was the Introduction of the Judges. Well, here they are:

Let's move on to the Evening Gown Competiiton. I think they should've changed the music during the Evening Gown Competition. It was inappropriate and for me it was irritating. This time, there were no interruptions. To match the event, Elle Mcpherson and Naomi Campbell changed their outfits as well.

Again, Miss Spain goes first. Her gown was really exotic. I think it was heavy because of the way she walked. Anyway, again, she lacked confidence, but I think she could do it very well. Next was Miss Venezuela. The evening gown she used for the Preliminaries was different from the gown she used during the Coronation Night. I think that was a smart move. The gown that she wore during the Coronation Night was a lot better. I think whatever gown she wore, she still did a good job! Five thumbs up to Eva Ekvall! It's Miss Nigeria's turn. She improved during the Evening Gown Competition. She walked with style, but I think she lacked the aura. If you'd notice, her pose during the Swimsuit Competition and Evening Gown Competition were similar. Something about her gown: it was simple, but elegant and her neckpiece accented her gown. Really elegant!

Let's proceed with Miss Israel. Her gown was simple. It was like Miss Nigeria's, but Miss Israel's gown was shorter and she was able to maneuver easily. Anyway, she did well, but I think she just lacked elegance. Enter Miss Greece. Her gown was perfect for her. It's just simple, but the way she carried it made look more elegant. She was like a Greek Goddess (talk about Aphrodite last year!). I can't say anything negative about her. Next comes Miss India. I think she should've chosen another gown. A gown that she wouldn't have to hold the whole time. She kept on holding her gown. I think because it was too long.

Let's move on with Miss Russia! Her gown's just fine. I don't understand why she moved so slowly. This time she chose to be sexy. Miss USA! Like Miss Venezuela, Miss USA used a different gown during the Coronation Night. I think I saw her gown somewhere on the internet. It looks good on her. She did a good job during the Evening Gown Competition. Next was Miss France. The gown she wore was simple and I remembered the gown of last year's Miss France's Sonia Roland. It also had something for the arms. Well, I'm positive that there's something wrong with her arm. It remained to be stiff. I think that's the reason she got the lowest score which is 8.99.

Last, but definitely not the least, Miss Puerto Rico. Her gown was simple, but elegant and also a little bit daring. Anyway, again, I think she was overrated. If you'd notice, there was certain stiffness on her legs. I think the judges did not notice that and they gave her high scores.

It's time to name the Five Finalists. It was easy to guess the outcome based on their performances without looking at their scores.

The Miss Universe 2001 Five Finalists (from left to right): Miss India-Celina Jaitley, Miss Venezuela-Eva Ekvall, Miss Puerto Rico-Denise M. Quiñones August, Miss Greece-Evelina Papantoniou, Miss USA-Kandace Krueger

The fact that Miss Puerto Rico was in the Top Five was not a surprise. Miss India was out of place because of her height.

Anyway, let's move on to the Interview Part of the pageant. The Finalists picked out a judge from the bowl. That judge will ask the candidate the question. There was a time limit to answer the questions. If you see the word (DING!), that means that was when the bell (?) rang (?).

Miss India, Celina Jaitley

Marc Bouwer asked her the questions

What motivates you and why?

The biggest motivating force in life is your inner self. I, me, myself motivates myself everyday because if you can't motivate yourself, nothing ever can. The biggest motivating factor in life is you, yourself. Thank you.

How would you best describe your family?

Well, I come from, a nuclear family - a very loving and disciplined environment because (DING!) my parents come from the army and a loving nuclear family.

Well, Celina answered the question well enough, but I think it was confusing because of the redundant words. Her answers sounded quite rehearsed and I think her answers didn't impress the judges that much.

Miss Venezuela, Eva Ekvall

Marc Anthony asked her the questions

If you can invite one famous person, living or dead, to a dinner party, who would it be and why?

It would definitely by the Dalai Lama because first of all, my father is a Buddhist and I've learned a lot of Buddhism practices through him. And as a matter of fact, today, I am a Buddhist. And I would like to know a lot about how he keeps his eternal peace which is so incredible and to teach the whole world that obviously.

How would you let a man know that you are attracted to him?

I think that he would notice right away just by the way I look at him at his eyes and I would definitely smile. I think he would just got (DING!) . . . (I didn't get the last few words after the bell)

Eva was really confident with her answers. She did really well because I think that honest answers are always the best ones!

Personally, I wasn't that impressed with Denise's answers because I think Tyson Beckford was referring to a THING - A tangible inanimate object. If it's so, her answer is way too far. About her second answer, all I can say is that it's the same old answer for the same old question!

Another honest answer from Evelina! Although she wasn't fluent with her English, she was able to deliver that thought of her answer clearly. As she was answering the second question, Naomi didn't let her finish! I think that was so unfair because she let Miss Puerto Rico finish hers. She should've let Miss Greece finish her answer.

Kandace is a FAST talker! Her ideas are good, but I think she should slow down a little bit. She was the only finalists who didn't need the bell!

I thought this year would be traditional. Meaning, there would be a cut to the Final Three Candidates, but they also let the Five Finalists the Final Question!

Before we go one with the final question, there was a little Awarding Ceremony for Miss Congeniality and Clairol Herbal Essences Style award.

"Well, in the past there was a time when I was bedridden and I was very ill. It took me almost a year to get back on my feet and start walking again and I missed out a lot in my life. I missed out on the most important years of my life. And if I could change anything about my past, it would be that period of my life, definitely. Thank you."

"One thing about my past . . . Well, definitely, I would not choose anything at all because I'm very happy the way I have lived my life up to now. And because the person that I am now is what the past has done to me. So, I would be completely different and I wouldn't be proud of who I am."

"I'm trying really to find something that I would want in the past, but I really enjoyed all my life, all the good opportunities that I've had and all those not good that moments, but they helped me to grow. And I have enjoyed all my life. And I thank God for each step that he has given me. I have no regrets."

"Well, even though I make mistakes in the past, I try to overcome them and I don't think there would be something that I would like to change in my past because, you know, you learn from your past so you don't make the same mistakes in the future. That's why I love the things that I did and my mistakes, trying to be the best on the future."

"Actually, I wouldn't change anything about my past. Actually, I have been through quite a bit of adversities in my life, my parents have been divorced, and other adversities, but I think that they have made me the person that I am today and I believe that is the strong and independent woman and I am very thankful for that."

After Lara Dutta's Final Walk, it was time to announce the winners of Miss Universe 2001.