Miss Universe 2004

Miss Universe 2004
Date 1 June 2004
Presenters Billy Bush, Daisy Fuentes
Entertainment Gloria Estefan
Venue Centro de Convenciones CEMEXPO, Quito, Ecuador
Broadcaster NBC
Entrants 80
Placements 15
Debuts Ethiopia, Georgia, Vietnam
Withdrawals Albania, Argentina, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand
Returns Austria, Botswana, Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Paraguay, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Turks & Caicos, Uruguay
Winner Jennifer Hawkins
 Australia
Congeniality Laia Manetti
 Italy
Best National Costume Jessica Rodríguez
 Panama
Photogenic Alba Reyes
 Puerto Rico

Miss Universe 2004, the 53rd Miss Universe pageant, was held on 1 June 2004 at the Centro de Convenciones CEMEXPO in Quito, Ecuador. Jennifer Hawkins of Australia was crowned by Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic at the event's conclusion.[1] 80 contestants competed in this year.

Results

Placements

Final results Contestant
Miss Universe 2004
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 10
Top 15

Contestants

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss Universe 2004

Judges

Final telecast

The judging panel for the final competition included:

Note: Kwame Jackson, runner-up on the first season of The Apprentice, was initially chosen as a judge, but he was disqualified because he inadvertently visited the hotel where the delegates were staying and interacted with some of the contestants.[3]

Notes

Debuts

Returns

Last competed in 1991:

Last competed in 1999:

Last competed in 2000:

Last competed in 2001:

Last competed in 2002:

Withdrawals

Replacements

  • Zita Galgociova was initially chosen to represent Slovak Republic,[4] but she was replaced with her first runner-up Zuzana Dvorska because she was under the minimum age.

Host city

Quito, Ecuador was announced as host city of the pageant on 19 August 2003. The city paid $5 million for the right to host the event, although it anticipated recouping this through visitors and promotion of the country during the televised competition.[5]

In March, Ecuador's foreign trade minister was forced to reject rumours that the pageant was at risk of being moved to China, and he urged Ecuadoreans to back the pageant.[6] As an added incentive for tourists, Ecuador American Airlines, official airline sponsor of the pageant, offered 5% off airfares to Quito for travel to the pageant, as well as 10% off for those who booked a month in advance.[7] The attempted use of the pageant to promote Ecuador threatened to be derailed just prior to the telecast, when a corruption scandal led to growing demands for the removal of President Lucio Gutierrez in the politically unstable country.[8]

Prior to the arrival of delegates in early May, officials in Quito attempted to renovate areas where they would be visiting, which involved temporarily removing beggars and homeless people from certain areas of the city.[9] Similar action was taken in Bangkok, Thailand prior to Miss Universe 1992[10] and in Manila, Philippines prior to Miss Universe 1994.[11] The event was protested by native Indian activists and environmentalists who accused the government of concealing the nations poverty whilst the pageant was being hosted.[12]

The delegates, judges, media and tourists were heavily protected by a security detail involving over 5000 police officers.[13] On 16 May, just hours before delegates were expected to participate in a parade in Cuenca, a pamphlet bomb was deactivated by police. Although it was protesting the economic policies of the Ecuadorean government, police suspected that the bomb, found just six blocks from the parade route, was timed specifically to coincide with the event.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Australian model becomes Miss Universe 2004". Agence France Press. 2004-06-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Miss Universe 2004 Pageant (2004) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ "U.S. Miss Universe judge disqualified for visiting contestants". EFE News Service. 2004-05-31.
  4. ↑ "Miss Universe Slovakia Won by 17-Year-Old from Trnava". Tlacova Agentura Slovenskej Republiky. 2004-03-21.
  5. ↑ "Ecuador picked to host 2004 Miss Universe pageant". Reuters News. 2003-08-19.
  6. ↑ "Minister scolds Ecuadoreans for not being excited about Miss Universe". Associated Press. 2004-03-23.
  7. ↑ "Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Miss Universe pageant in Ecuador thanks to discounts offered by American Airlines Take Advantage of a Bonus Discount When Booking the Trip 30 Days in Advance" (Press release). American Airlines. 2004-04-07.
  8. ↑ Hayes, Monty (2004-05-31). "Ecuador looks to Miss Universe pageant to improve image tainted by political crisis". Associated Press.
  9. ↑ "Quito primps for Miss Universe pageant by clearing out beggars". EFE News Service. 2004-05-12.
  10. ↑ Shenon, Philip (1991-08-25). "Thailand Evicting the Poor: Coming Events Spur Leaders to Level Slum". Los Angeles Daily News.
  11. ↑ "Police roundup of Manila street children under probe". Straits Times. 1994-05-02.
  12. ↑ "Activists say poor Ecuador no place for Miss Universe contest". EFE News Service. 2004-05-31.
  13. ↑ "Ecuador to assign 5,250 police to safeguard Miss Universe pageant". Associated Press. 2004-05-31.
  14. ↑ "Police deactivate pamphlet bomb in Ecuador town hosting Miss Universe parade". Associated Press. 2004-05-16.
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