Nha Trang Bay hosts Miss Universe contest

The 57th Miss Universe 2008 finals were held in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Beijing time. Miss Venezuela, Diana Mendoza, won the title.

Wei Ziya from Chongqing, China, also made it to the finals, but did not make it to the top 15.

Additionally, Miss Colombia, Terana Vargas, was the first runner-up and the second runner-up was Miss Dominica, Cruz Gonzalez.

The contestants from 80 countries around the world have been wearing swimsuits, evening gowns, national costumes, and the traditional Vietnamese costume "Ao Dai" for the past month. However, in the final moments, only one person won, taking the crown worth 120,000 U.S. dollars, as well as cash, prizes, a luxury apartment unit in New York City, a year of free trips around the world, and so on. An insider from the organizing agency said, "Miss Venezuela won the hearts of the Vietnamese. In the Ao Dai segment, she won despite tripping and falling. The final was broadcast to 170 countries around the world from 8 a.m. Vietnam time. Authorities chose to hold the final in the morning to coincide with prime time television in the United States on Sunday evening.

The hosts were American talk show host Jerry Springer and Mel B, a former member of Britain's Spice Girls. Mr. Yang Hua, a Chinese national, was invited by the Miss Universe USA headquarters to be one of the judges for the final competition due to his popularity in the world beauty pageant industry. Chongqing Wei Ziya, who represented China this year, is the 2007 Miss Universe China Champion. This year's 25-year-old, 1.75-meter tall Wei Ziya has a "small Lin Chiling" reputation. "Miss Universe" pageant and "Miss World", "Miss International" pageant is known as the world-class three major beauty pageants. Since its birth in the United States in 1952, Miss Universe has been successfully held for 57 times, with contestants from 151 countries and regions around the world. Since 2002, China has been sending representatives to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. 2002, Zhuo Lin, as the first Chinese to appear on the Miss Universe stage, won the third place in the finals, which is also the first time for Miss China to be in the Miss Universe pageant. "In 2007, Zhang Ningning was awarded the title of "Miss Universe Goodwill" for her unique affinity.

Vietnam is the first ****-producing country to host the Miss Universe pageant, and was just chosen to host Miss World 2010 last week.