Indian beauty Queen, Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe 2021 in southern Israel on Sunday.
The pageant was held in the city of Eilat. And 80 women from all around the world competed for the much desired title. The competition was hosted by popular American comedian, Steve Harvey.
Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay and Lalela Mswane of South Africa were the first and second runners-up, respectively.
After her win was announced, the newly crowned Queen celebrated with other contestants on stage. She shouted to a camera, “Chak de Phatte India,” a Punjabi exclamation similar in meaning to “Let’s do this, India!”
2021’s edition of the competition marks the second Covid-era Miss Universe pageant. Israel’s borders were set to open to vaccinated tourists ahead of the main event this year. However, due to the emergence of the new Omicron variant, the Israeli government shut its borders to foreigners two weeks before the competition.
One of the contestants, Miss France, tested positive for the virus upon landing in Israel. She had to quarantine and she only got out just in time for the preliminary competition on Friday.
There was also some political controversy surrounding the event. Some critics and countries called for boycotts as with previous international events hosted in Israel.
The South African government even withdrew its support and called on Mswane to drop out. They cited Israeli treatment of Palestinians, calling it “apartheid,” a charge Israel has vehemently denied. However, Mswane with the backing of the Miss South Africa organization chose to travel to Israel and compete.
