India wins Miss Universe marked by politics and epidemic | People | USA Edition

The victory of Indian athlete Harnas Lane in the Miss Universe pageant marked the end of the 70th edition of the beauty pageant in the Israeli city of Eilat today, and was marked by political controversy and uncertainty over restrictions due to the epidemic.

Twenty-one years old, 1.76 meters tall, with polished English and an encouraging message for young women of the world, the new Miss Universe was much loved and lived up to it, surpassing second-place finisher Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay. And Lalela Maswane of South Africa took third place.

An actress who is a professional, a native of Chandigarh and a role model for her gynecologist’s mother, Miss Universe has mentioned on many occasions that women around the world should not hesitate to pursue their dreams.

“As a beauty contest, we want to reach out to every woman who sees us and believes they should be the leaders of their own lives,” the winner told a news conference after the gala, in which she stressed: “If we can, they can too.”

On the other hand, plaster maintains the restrictions in place in various parts of the world to prevent the progression of the disease and the compulsion of vaccination, saying “health should be a priority and, above all, it should be given. It is what we have”.

In the most intimate match, the presence of the South African participant among the finalists was astonishing, with the Indians stunning the umpires by marching on the catwalk (including bathing suits and evening gowns). Questions asked of him.

One of the highlights of his performance was that presenter Steve Harvey asked him to imitate the sounds of animals and express his talent, to which he responded by meowing like a cat. When asked about this alley, he said, “The only consensus people have about beauty pageants is that they have to be beautiful, not that, to be on stage.”

In addition to the other two finalists, the winner went out of the way, with representatives from Colombia and the Philippines forming a team of five who reached the finals, and the other 75 competitors who attended today in the Israeli city of Elat.

A political rivalry

As is often the case in Israel, rivalries precede political controversy.

One of them, a South African participant – ranked third – appeared in the contest and decided to ignore his country’s government’s call for its withdrawal and non-alignment with Israel due to the atrocities against the Palestinians. “.

Many critics of Israeli policy against the Palestinians shouted into the air that holding the event was a way for Israel to avoid a view of conflict.

On the other hand, the Israeli media and politicians celebrated the presence of representatives of Bahrain and Morocco, who, after normalizing diplomatic relations last year, saw the sign of a growing bond between these countries and Israel.

According to figures from the Ministry of Tourism, the Israeli government donated 6.5 million shekels (over two million dollars) to the organization of the event, which officials hope will help boost tourism for foreigners once the borders reopen. To improve the image of the country at the international level.

Epidemic, again the protagonist

The Israeli government’s decision to veto the entry of tourists two weeks ago to prevent the spread of the Omigron variant of the corona virus created fears that the competition would initially be canceled and caused annoyance among some about the exceptions granted to competitors and fans.

However, the main clue of the epidemic was felt in the stands, many of which were empty due to the absence of foreigners and the apparent lack of interest of the local public.

On the other hand, the victory of India’s representative today, as the previous edition of the pageant was postponed last year, marks the end of the shortest reign in the history of the Miss Universe after the coronation of Mexican Andrea Mesa. March this year.

Paul Doyer