The 2015 Miss Universe Pageant is just around the corner and there is so much in store for this year's event! From the world's most gorgeous contestants, to A-list performers and a slew of celebrity hosts and judges, the night is bound to be an exciting one as these glamorous, empowered and confident women show the world that they have what it takes to make real changes and be true to themselves.
The mission of the Miss Universe Pageant is to provide tools to help women be their personal best self. It's all about self-confidence and being able to stand up for yourself in any given situation because that's what truly makes you beautiful. It's an organization run by women for women, to celebrate diversity, break stereotypes, give back to those in need and bring positive changes into this world. It's so much more than just beautiful women posing in bikinis, and that's what the organization is all about: proving that beauty is what's on the inside.
Last year, Paulina Vega, 22, from Colombia won the Miss Universe title after she impressed the judges when asked what women can learn from men by answering that men who champion equality are good ones to follow. Not only is Vega beautiful, but she is smart, passionate about what she believes in, has a great sense of humor and is inspirational - which is exactly what they're looking for when crowning Miss Universe.
It's only a matter of time before we find out who the 2015 winner is.
This year's Miss USA is 27-year-old blonde beauty Olivia Jordan from Tulsa, Okla. Jordan is a model and actress who graduated from Boston University and is an advocate for Children of the Night, a group dedicated to getting U.S. children out of prostitution. She was also the 2015 host for the Oklahoma Chapter Alzheimer's Association Memory Gala, for which she helped raise over $2 million.
Her goal is equality for all and acceptance and love of all people, and she will represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant this year.
This year's pageant will be hosted by talk show and game show host Steve Harvey and actress Roselyn Sanchez, while Charlie Puth, Seal and The Band Perry will be putting on very special performances throughout the night.
The telecast judges this year are former NFL player Emmitt Smith, actress Niecy Nash, former Miss Universe winner Olivia Culpo and popular blogger Perez Hilton. The preliminary judges are Erika Albies, Erin Brady, Julio Caro, Keiko Uraguchi, Nichelle Turner, Rocky Motwani and Zak Soreff.
As for our top five choices for who we think could win this year, based on the preliminary show, which took place on Wednesday, Miss USA, Miss Colombia, Miss Brazil, Miss Australia and Miss Philippines all owned the stage and are looking like they have a good shot at taking home the crown during the final event.
The 2015 Miss Universe Pageant takes place in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and airs live on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. on FOX.
Take a look at the full list of contestants below. (*Our choices of who has the best shot to win).
Miss Albania - Megi Luka, 19
Miss Angola - Whitney Shikongo, 20
Miss Argentina - Claudia Barrionuevo, 24
Miss Aruba - Alysha Boekhoudt, 21
Miss Australia - Monika Radulvic, 25*
Miss Austria - Amina Dagi, 20
Miss Bahamas -Toria Nichole, 27
Miss Belgium - Annelies Toros, 20
Miss Bolivia - Romina Rocamonje, 23
Miss Brazil - Marthina Brandt, 23*
Miss British Virgin Islands - Adorya Baly, 22
Miss Bulgaria - Radostina Todorova, 20
Miss Canada - Paola Nunez, 24
Miss Cayman Islands - Tonie Chisholm, 27
Miss Chile - Maria Belen Jerez, 25
Miss China - Yun Fang Xue, 21
Miss Colombia - Ariadna Gutierrez-Arevalo, 21*
Miss Costa Rica - Brenda Castro, 23
Miss Croatia - Mirta Kustan, 22
Miss Curacao - Kanisha Sluis, 19
Miss Czech Republic - Nikol Svantnerova, 23
Miss Denmark - Cecilie Wellemberg, 21
Miss Dominican Republic - Clarissa Molina, 24
Miss Ecuador - Francesca Cipriani, 23
Miss El Salvador - Fatima Rivas, 22
Miss Finland - Rosa-Maria Ryyti, 21
Miss France - Flora Coquerel, 21
Miss Gabon - Ornella Obone, 19
Miss Georgia - Janet Kerdikoshvili, 24
Miss Germany - Sarah-Lorraine Riek, 23
Miss Ghana - Hilda Frimpong, 26
Miss Britan - Nena France, 25
Miss Greece - Mikaela-Eleni Fotiadi, 21
Miss Guatamala - Fabiola Jeimmy Aburto
Miss Guyana - Shuana Ramdyhan, 25
Miss Haiti - Lisa Drouillard, 23
Miss Honduras - Iroshka Elvir, 24
Miss Hungary - Nikoletta Nagy, 21
Miss India - Urvashi Rautela, 21
Miss Indonesia - Anindya Putri, 23
Miss Ireland - Joanna Cooper, 21
Miss Israel - Avigail Alfatov, 19
Miss Italy - Giada Pezzaioli, 22
Miss Jamaica - Sharlene Radlein, 25
Miss Japan - Ariana Miyamoto, 21
Miss Korea - Seoyeon Kim, 23
Miss Kosovo - Mirjeta Shala, 21
Miss Lebanon - Cynthia Roger Samuel, 20
Miss Malaysia - Vanessa Kumares, 24
Miss Mauritius - Sheetal Khadun, 26
Miss Mexico - Wendy Esparza, 24
Miss Montenegro - Maja Cukic, 20
Miss Myanmar - May Thaw, 25
Miss Netherlands - Jessie Jazz Vuijk, 20
Miss New Zealand - Samantha McClung, 20
Miss Nicaragua - Daniela Torres, 25
Miss Nigeria - Debbie Collins, 23
Miss Norway - Martine Rodseth, 24
Miss Panama - Gladyus Brandao Amaya, 24
Miss Paraguay - Myriam Arevalos, 22
Miss Peru - Laura Spoya, 24
Miss Philippines - Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, 26*
Miss Poland - Weronika Szmajdzinska, 21
Miss Portugal - Emilia Rosa Araujo, 24
Miss Puerto Rico - Catalina Morales, 25
Miss Russia - Vladislava Evtushenko, 19
Miss Serbia - Dasa Radosavljevic, 19
Miss Singapore - Lisa White, 22
Miss Slovak Republic - Denisa Vysnovska, 21
Miss Slovenia - Ana Halozan, 19
Miss South Africa - Refilwe Mthimunye, 24
Miss Spain - Carla Barber Garcia, 25
Miss Sweden - Paulina Brodd, 21
Miss Tanzania - Lorraine Marriot, 21
Miss Thailand - Aniporn Chalermburanawong, 21
Miss Turkey - Melisa Uzun, 20
Miss Ukraine - Anna Vergelskaya, 27
Miss Uruguay - Bianca Sanchez, 18
Miss USA - Olivia Jordan, 27*
Miss Venezuela - Mariana Jimenez, 22
Miss Vietnam - Huong Pham, 24