EILAT – Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe on Monday, in the 70th iteration of the beauty pageant which this year was mired in controversy over its location in Israel.
But despite a rallying cry to boycott the event, and misfortune for the Israeli beauty queen Noa Cochva who almost didn’t make it after fainting backstage, Israel still remained another clear winner at the glamourous gathering at the port of Eilat.
Host Steve Harvey opened the evening by paying homage to Israel. “Tonight we are in the beautiful country of Israel,” he said to an audience of 600 million in 172 countries around the world.
“This is a country with so much rich culture and history,” Harvey added.
The show itself was punctuated with footage showing off the country. In one clip, one of the contestants can be heard saying, “We feel like [Israel] is our home.”
The sites shown included Jerusalem, the Negev desert, the ancient coastal ruin city of Caesarea, the northern city of Haifa, Nazareth, the Dead Sea, and of course Eilat.
“We are in living history right now,” Miss Puerto Rico quipped.
“It’s truly a dream come true to come to Israel,” another said.
A third gushed: “And the food, let me talk about the food. Oh my God.”
The contestants shared their thoughts with Breitbart on touring the country.
Miss Venezuela Luiseth Materán said: “The most important day for me was visiting the [Yad Vashem] Holocaust museum. Its history totally impacted me.”
The final three Miss Universe contestants (L to R) Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane; Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu; and Miss Paraguay, Nadia Ferreira pose on stage during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. TV host Steve Harvey speaks with Miss Nigeria, Maristella Okpala, as she wears her national costume on stage during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m so excited to be here in Israel and to know [sic] about its culture,” she added.
Miss USA Elle Smith said she was lucky to room with Miss Israel. “She knows the country best so I’ve got the inside scoop on the best places to go,” she said.
“I’m going to be back. After Miss Universe I’ll come back to Israel and be able to explore on my own and just relax and explore the country in its entirety because it’s just a wonderful place.”
Israeli pop sensation Noa Kirel performed her English-language single, “Bad Little Thing,” and fellow Jewish Israeli Harel Skaat performed a Hebrew, Arabic and English-language rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with Arab Israeli Valerie Hamaty.
According to Asaf Blacher, Israeli Miss Universe producer, the Fox network fell in love with Kirel.
Blacher and his fellow local producers also tried to have the swimsuit portion of the contest, which they deemed archaic and inappropriate, canned, but ultimately failed.
The Israeli Ministry of Tourism had the final say in agreeing to host the contest, despite calls from within and without to nix it.
Sara Salansky, the ministry’s director of overseas marketing, said that the contestants’ social media activity contributed to the decision to host the contest in Israel.
“We want all the candidates to travel in Israel and to be shooting photos of them traveling and meeting the people and the sites of Israel,” the Times of Israel quoted Salansky as saying, “posting on social media and posting stories to their social networks.”
Meg Omecene, director of communications for the Miss Universe organization, told the paper that Israel’s handling of the pandemic was one of the reasons it was selected as a host country.
“One of the things that stood out to us was how Israel handled COVID, making us confident that we could have a live event safely there,” Omecene said.
Israel took the most aggressive approach in the world with the emergence of the Omicron strain, immediately closing its borders two weeks before the Miss Universe contest.
The top five Miss Universe contestants (L to R) Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu; Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane; Miss Paraguay, Nadia Ferreira; Miss Colombia, Valeria Ayos; and Miss Philippines, Beatrice Gomez pose on stage. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
While the Miss Universe contestants and a their limited entourages were issued exemptions, the new rules meant tourists could not enter Israel for the event.
Still, according to Salansky, they were in it for the long haul and the chance to showcase the country at an event of such magnitude would pay dividends for years to come.
“In principle, we didn’t look at it as an event that a lot of people will arrive to Israel,” said Salansky. “We looked at it as an event that… people will see Israel, it’s [good] PR, it’s a positive image for Israel.”
“This is where we put our money, PR, good image and help supporting the city to build itself for the future,” said Salansky. “In marketing, you’re not doing things for this moment, you’re looking for the long term. And we know that to change the image of Israel, it’s not something you can do in one day.”
U.S. singer JoJo performs on stage during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. television host Steve Harvey presents the top five Miss Universe contestants (L to R): Miss Philippines, Beatrice Gomez; Miss Colombia, Valeria Ayos; Miss Paraguay, Nadia Ferreira; Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane; and Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Attempts by the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to bully contestants into boycotting the event ultimately failed. Lalela Mswane defied both homegrown BDS activists and the South African government by taking part in the pageant – and coming in third place.
Turkey’s contestant, 22-year-old Cemrenaz Turhan, also defied the haters by her participation.
“I didn’t think for a second that I would boycott Israel — I’m not thinking about that,” she said. “I’m very happy to be here, the Israeli people are so kind and so amazing.”