The 72nd Miss Universe pageant will be held in San Salvador on Nov. 18, when current Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel will crown her successor. 

Former Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo and stylist Jeannie Mai will host the competition with Maria Menounos, marking the first time the pageant has an exclusively women hosting team. The 72nd Miss Universe will be streamed at 8 p.m. ET in English on The Roku Channel and in Spanish by Telemundo. 

Established in 1952, the Miss Universe pageant was created to promote Catalina Swimwear, which used to be called Pacific Knitting Mills. In 1951, the winner of Miss America Yolanda Betbeze refused to model a bathing suit for Catalina Swimwear, so the company decided to start its own pageant. 

Catalina Swimwear also created the Miss USA pageant, considered a preliminary phase of the Miss Universe. Jackie Loughery of New York won the first Miss USA competition in 1952, while the title of first Miss Universe in history went to Armi Kuusela of Finland that same year.

The main difference between Miss Universe and Miss World is the organizations behind them. Miss World was created in 1951 by Eric Morley, also known as Mr. World. Currently, Miss World is organized by his widow, Julia Morley. 

Both competitions also differ when it comes to pageant segments. Miss Universe is known for featuring a judges’ interview phase, a national costume runway, a swimsuit competition, evening gown runway and a final Q&A round. Miss World features additional segments, including a social media challenge, talent and sports. 

Miss Universe is considered popular in Latin America, the United States, Canada and the Philippines. Created in the U.K., Miss World is better known in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

To enter the Miss Universe competition, contestants must be at least 18 and under 28 years of age when the National competition commenced. However, starting in 2024, contestants will have no upper age restriction. 

Contestants must be a citizen of the country they are representing. 

As of 2023, the Miss Universe Organization allows mothers, married or pregnant women to compete in the pageant.

Contestants are allowed to have tattoos. Miss Spain 2014 Desire Cordero was the first Miss Universe contestant to expose a tattoo on stage.

Contestants are allowed to have plastic and cosmetic surgery. 

The competition begins with preliminary interviews, including a swimsuit or athletic wear and evening gown presentation. After that, semifinalists are announced during the live show. The contestants must walk the runway during the swimsuit or athletic wear segment. 

The second phase of the live shows brings the semifinalists walking the runway in evening gowns so judges can see their personal style. According to the Miss Universe website, the dress design does not count toward the total score of each contestant. 

After the evening gown segment, a top six is revealed, and they must face the final question round. Each contestant selects a judge who presents a question focused on social, cultural and political topics. All scores are averaged and the top three contestants move on to the Final Look phase, which helps the judges decide the winner. 

The Kayser-Roth Corporation acquired the Miss Universe Organization and other Pacific Mills subsidiaries in 1958 and then sold to the Gulf and Western Industries in 1967. In 1989, Gulf and Western changed its name to Paramount Communications. In 1994, Viacom purchased majority ownership of Paramount. Two years later, Viacom sold part of its assets to Cablevision and ITT Corporation. In 1995, Donald Trump purchased the Miss Universe Organization from ITT Corp. 

In 2015, Trump was pressured to sell the Miss Universe after making controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during his presidential campaign. Talent agency WME/IMG then acquired the pageant. In October 2022, Thai transgender entrepreneur Anne Jakrajutatip purchased the Miss Universe Organization from IMG. 

The Miss Universe Organization revealed its first collaborative merchandise line on Nov. 9. The collection will feature swimsuits that will also be seen onstage during the 72nd Miss Universe competition. Produced under the name Miss Universe by Rubin Singer, the swimwear offering will be available on Wednesday for preorder on missuniverse.com.

Swimsuits have always been part of the Miss Universe competition. However, in 1973, contestants weren’t allowed to wear their swimsuits inside the Odeon of Herod Atticus Theater in Athens, Greece, where the pageant was held, because the place was considered a sacred religious theater. Instead, the swimsuit pageant was organized as a preliminary outside the theater.

Clarisse Designs was named the official sponsor for the 72nd Miss Universe pageant. The evening gown brand will provide dresses to be worn by all delegates for the opening numbers of the preliminary and final competitions.

Over the years, the Miss Universe Organization has partnered with multiple fashion brands, including Sherri Hill Fashions, Shein, Chinese Laundry and Liva.

In 2019, the Lebanese jewelry company Mouawad became the official jeweler for the Miss Universe Organization. Mouawad designed the Force for Good crown currently being worn by Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel. The crown is encrusted with diamonds and sapphires with 993 stones.

Japanese artisan Tomohiro Yamaji of Mikimoto designed the crowns worn from 2002 to 2007 and 2017 to 2018.

Miss USA 1954 Miriam Stevenson is remembered as the first American to win the Miss Universe title and the only one who received a tied final score — she disputed the crown with Martha Rocha of Brazil. Both faced a last decisive round in the competition, and Stevenson ended up securing the title due to having a “better physique” for what Catalina Swimwear was looking for.

Here’s the complete list: 

Miss Universe 1952 Armi Kuusela

Miss Universe 1953 Christiane Martel 

Miss Universe 1954 Miriam Stevenson 

Miss Universe 1955 Hellevi Rombin

Miss Universe 1956 Carol Morris

Miss Universe 1957 Gladys Zender 

Miss Universe 1958 Luz Marina Zuluaga 

Miss Universe 1959 Akiko Kojima

Miss Universe 1960 Linda Bement 

Miss Universe 1961 Marlene Schmidt

Miss Universe 1962 Norma Nolan

Miss Universe 1963 Idea Maria Vargas

Miss Universe 1964 Corinna Tsopei 

Miss Universe 1965 Apasra Hongsakula

Miss Universe 1966 Margareta Arvidsson

Miss Universe 1967 Sylvia Hitchcock

Miss Universe 1968 Martha Vasconcellos

Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz

Miss Universe 1970 Marisol Malaret

Miss Universe 1971 Georgina Rizk

Miss Universe 1972 Kerry Anne Wells

Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran

Miss Universe 1974 Amparo Munoz

Miss Universe 1975 Anne Marie Puhtamo

Miss Universe 1976 Rina Messinger

Miss Universe 1977 Janelle Commissiong

Miss Universe 1978 Margaret Gardiner

Miss Universe 1979 Maritza Sayalero

Miss Universe 1980 Shawn Weatherly

Miss Universe 1981 Irene Saez

Miss Universe 1982 Karen Baldwin

Miss Universe 1983 Lorraine Downes

Miss Universe 1984 Yvonne Ryding

Miss Universe 1985 Deborah Carthy–Deu 

Miss Universe 1986 Barbara Palacios Teyde 

Miss Universe 1987 Cecilia Bolocco 

Miss Universe 1988 Pontip Nakhirunkanok 

Miss Universe 1989 Angela Visser

Miss Universe 1990 Mona Grudt 

Miss Universe 1991 Lupita Jones

Miss Universe 1992 Michelle McLean 

Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres 

Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen 

Miss Universe 1995 Chelsi Smith 

Miss Universe 1996 Alicia Machado 

Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee

Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam

Miss Universe 1999 Mpule Kwelagobe

Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta 

Miss Universe 2001 Denise M. Quiñones

Miss Universe 2002 Oksana Fedorova

Miss Universe 2002 Justine Pasek

Miss Universe 2003 Amelia Vega Polanco 

Miss Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins

Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova

Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Riviera Mendoza 

Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori 

Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza

Miss Universe 2009 Stefanía Fernández

Miss Universe 2010 Ximena Navarrete

Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes

Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo 

Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler

Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega Dieppa

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach

Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere

Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters

Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray

Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi 

Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza 

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu

Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel