How to watch the 2023 Miss Universe pageant
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A new Miss Universe will be crowned on Saturday night.
The 72nd annual Miss Universe competition is taking place on November 18 at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Miss Universe will stream live on the Roku Channel at 8 p.m. ET and can also be watched on the Roku Channel website. It will also air live in Spanish on Telemundo.
Eighty-four women, including Miss USA Noelia Voigt, are competing for the title of Miss Universe. The winner will be crowned by R'Bonney Gabriel, who became the ninth American to take home the Miss Universe crown after she won in January.
Gabriel was the ninth American woman to win Miss Universe. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
John Legend is performing at this year's competition, which will be hosted by Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo alongside Maria Menounos and Jeannie Mai Jenkins. Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Zuri Hall will serve as backstage correspondents.
The selection committee includes singer Mario Bautista, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star Carson Kressley, Telemundo host Giselle Blondet, former White House physician Dr. Connie Mariano, and influencer Avani Gregg.
It also features a number of famous pageant queens, including Janelle Commissiong, the first woman of color to be crowned Miss Universe when she won the competition in 1977, and Halima Aden, the first woman to wear a hijab and burkini while competing in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant in 2016. Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere and Miss Oregon USA 1994 Denise White are also on the committee.
Noelia Voigt will represent the United States at the Miss Universe competition. Courtesy of Miss USA
Miss Universe announced on Instagram that the competition will begin with the top 20 announcement, followed by the swimwear round. The top 10 will then be announced, followed by the evening gown round. The top five will answer interview questions, and the top three will have a final question before the winner is revealed.
It is set to be a historic Miss Universe as Miss Colombia Camila Avella and Miss Guatemala Michelle Cohn will be the first married women and mothers to compete since the organization changed the rules in August 2022. The Miss Universe Organization also announced this year that all women aged 18 and over will be eligible to compete in the pageant, but the new rule will not go into effect until 2024.
Miss Netherlands Rikkie Kollé and Miss Portugal Marina Machete will be the first transgender women to compete at Miss Universe since Miss Spain Angela Ponce made history in 2018.
This will be the second Miss Universe competition led by Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, who became the first woman to own Miss Universe after her Thailand-based company, JKN Global Group, purchased the organization from IMG for $20 million in October 2022.
Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel, and Miss Dominican Republic Andreína Martínez were the top three at the 71st Miss Universe competition. Jason Kempin/Getty Images
The Miss Universe pageant is occurring just days after the Thai bankruptcy court accepted a petition from JKN for "business rehabilitation." The company missed a payment on a multimillion-dollar loan and intends to restructure its debt, according to a letter to the stock-exchange president that the company shared on its website on November 9.
Despite ongoing financial issues, JKN said in a statement on its website that it would still provide a "top-notch experience" to fans at the 72nd Miss Universe competition.
"We are confident that the new plan will support all of the company's business operations, including Miss Universe," the statement read. "We reaffirm that the legacy of Miss Universe will be carried on by JKN Global Group as envisioned from the beginning."
The ongoing controversy comes just a year after Miss USA was consumed in scandal after multiple contestants said the 2022 competition was rigged in favor of Gabriel, who went on to win Miss Universe in January.
