The winner of the Miss Universe contest, the final of which was held on November 18 (in the morning of November 19, Moscow time, – approx. ed. “Tapes.ru”) V El Salvadorbecame a participant from Nicaragua Shannies Palacios. 84 girls from all over the world competed for the title of the main beauty of the world. This year the competition was unusual: in August 2022, the requirements for participants were relaxed, trying to keep up with the times. Therefore, for the first time in history, participants who already have children, as well as a plus-size model, walked on the Miss Universe stage.

Shannice Palacios from Nicaragua was named the most beautiful girl in the world. Who is she?

23-year-old Palacios became the first representative from Nicaragua and Central America in general to win the Miss Universe pageant. She was born and raised in the country’s capital, Managua. Palacios has performed in beauty pageants several times and in 2021 even traveled from the country to the Miss World competition and was included in the list of the top forty participants.

The girl graduated from the Central American University with a degree in Mass Communications and played for the university volleyball team. She works as a TV presenter and model and admits that what she enjoys most is filming, editing and producing videos.

Palacios is very proud that she was able to finish her studies and receive a diploma: while studying, she began to have severe panic attacks. However, she was able to cope with them and decided to help other girls who face problems due to mental health by launching the “Understand Your Mind” project.

During the final round of the Miss Universe pageant, Palacios was asked which woman who ever lived she would like to be for a year. She chose the 18th century English writer and thinker Mary Wollstonecraft. The girl believes that it was this historical figure who helped women start the fight and get equal opportunities with men, for which she is immensely grateful to her.

I dedicate this evening to my inner child and to every girl who dreams of making her dream come true, even if the sky itself becomes the limit for its fulfillment. A dream so big that people don’t believe it can be realized. But it is with such dreams that it becomes clear that only you yourself know that your dreams and goals are much greater than all possible obstacles if you fight for their implementation with determination, perseverance and passion

Shannies Palacios

from her post on social networks, posted a few hours before the final

In 2023, contestants with children took part in the Miss Universe pageant for the first time.

The Miss Universe pageant has repeatedly come under attack for objectifying women, controlling their personal lives and imposing uniform beauty standards. The organizers listened to criticism and in August 2022 lifted one of the main prohibitions: now participants can have a family and children. The age range for participants remained the same: from 18 to 28 years.

We all believe that women should have freedom of choice and that a person’s personal decisions should not be an obstacle to their success.

Organizers of Miss Universe

on the decision to lift the ban on married women and women with children participating in the competition

Participants from Guatemala And Colombia. The first, Michelle Cohn, has a husband and two children – a boy and a girl. The second, Maria Camilla Avella Montanez, has a husband and daughter.

Also this year, a representative took part in the competition for the first time Pakistan. Erica Robin, as a representative of a Muslim country (although she herself professes Christianity), went to the traditional fashion show in swimsuits in burkini.

Miss Nepal, 23-year-old Jane Deepika Garrett, became the first plus-size contestant. With a height of 170 centimeters, she weighs more than 80 kilograms. “I’m here to represent curvy women who suffer from excess weight and hormonal problems,” she states.

Her performance at the national costume competition was especially striking: on her head was a homemade huge hat made of polyurethane foam, reminiscent of a huge broccoli into which ballistic missiles crash. According to her, the structure symbolized the struggle for peace.

Two transgender women also took part in the competition: they represented Netherlands And Portugal. Marina Machete from Portugal became the first transgender participant in the history of the competition to enter the top 20 beauties.

Russia was represented at the competition by “Miss Russia” Margarita Golubeva

From Russia, the owner of the Miss Russia title, 22-year-old Margarita Golubeva, went to the Miss Universe competition. According to her, she had to prepare to participate in the show of beauties under unprecedented conditions. “I studied fashion shows four hours a day, studied foreign languages ​​with tutors – English and Italian, took additional courses in makeup and hairstyles to look my best,” she explained.

This is the first time such a situation has occurred at the Miss Russia competition, when the girl has only three weeks to prepare. Usually there are six months

Margarita Golubeva

winner of the Miss Russia 2023 contest

At the national costume competition, Golubeva, contrary to tradition, performed not in the usual kokoshnik and folk dress, but in the “Swan Princess” costume, inspired by Russian fairy tales and paintings Mikhail Vrubel. Despite her decent performance, noted by journalists, she failed to enter the top twenty.

It is worth noting that in recent years this part of Miss Universe can hardly be called a “national costume competition” in the traditional sense. For example, a UK entrant in 2023 came out with a huge piece of plastic on her back depicting an enlarged version of the Oxford Dictionary. The representative of Puerto Rico’s dress resembled a pavement, and on the back there was a design of colorful houses typical for the country, and “Miss Guyana” delighted the audience with a huge composition depicting a jungle with animal figures. The scope of the suit was several meters in each direction

Golubeva is simultaneously studying at two universities: in her fifth year at the Russian Customs Academy and in her second year at the Moscow State Institute of Culture at the Faculty of Musical Arts.

In 2021, Margarita participated in the tenth anniversary season of the show “The Voice”, but was unable to go beyond the first stage. It was after this that she entered the IPCC, where she became her mentor Larisa Dolina. The girl hopes to someday open her own vocal training school, where children from a variety of families could study. The girl considers her mother, who managed to raise four children while working as an oncologist, a huge source of inspiration.

The Miss Universe pageant has been plagued by problems and scandals for years

The Miss Universe competition has long been notorious. In the past, its winners have repeatedly lost the title for breaking the rules. This happened with Oksana Fedorova – the only Miss Universe from Russia to win the competition. She was demoted after just four months for her unwillingness to fulfill the terms of the contract.

Since 1996 “Miss Universe” spent entrepreneur Donald Trumplater became president USA. At that time, the results of the competition were entirely determined by his tastes and whims. He entered dressing rooms without warning to look at naked girls, and, according to eyewitnesses, he married participants who rejected his advances.

In 2015, due to Trump’s offensive remarks during the election campaign, television channels began to break contracts with the Miss Universe organizers. The future president of the United States had to urgently sell the competitions, and in 2022 they changed hands again. They were acquired by the Thai company JKN Global Group, which paid $20 million for it.

The money was borrowed, and it was not possible to return it on time. JKN Global Group management claims that problems with debt repayment arose due to difficult market conditions and high inflation. In November, a few days before the Miss Universe final, the company announced about bankruptcy. In the future, she hopes to restructure the debt and achieve an extension of the loan repayment period.