South African Crowned Miss Universe 2019

South African pageant queen Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019 on Sunday night, following several rounds of competition including evening gown and swimsuit catwalks, as well as questions on social issues. 

Prior to winning, Ms Tunzi had run an online campaign where she urged South African men to write ‘love letters’ to her nation’s women. She then incorporated these letters into her national costume outfit, which also featured the colours of the South African flag.

In a final pitch to the judges Ms Tunzi explained that her motivation for competing was that “I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me - with my kind of skin and my kind of hair - was never considered to be beautiful … I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.” 

The competition was held at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta and has already made headlines, with Miss Myanmar, Swe Zin Htet, claiming to be the first openly gay contestant. It was hosted for the fifth time by Family Feud presenter Steve Harvey, who in 2015 infamously declared the wrong overall winner. This year Harvey fell foul of a similar mistake, apparently confusing the winner of the national costume contest, Miss Philippines, with the woman stood next to him, Miss Malaysia. 

This year’s runners up were Miss Mexico and Miss Puerto Rico. Speaking earlier in the competition Sofia Aragón, representing Mexico, remarked that “If you do not use your beauty for your life’s mission, it’s just an empty ornament.”