Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu of Chandigarh, India, is crowned Miss Universe 2021. She was crowned Miss Universe 2020 by Mexico’s Andrea Meza. This year, the pageant has been arranged in southern Israel.
On Monday, December 13th, the 21-year-old model was crowned Miss Universe 2021. Harnaaz is bringing home the crown after 21 years. Lara Dutta had previously been crowned Miss Universe in 2000. And before that Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe title in 1994.
The competition featured up to 80 contestants from various countries, with Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira as the runner-up, followed by Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane as the second runner-up. The event was live-streamed online and hosted by famous American television and radio presenter Steve Harvey.
On stage during the pageant, Sandhu urged young people to “know that you are unique and that’s what makes you beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others.” “I believed in myself, and that’s why I’m standing here today,” she said in response to applause from the audience.
When Sandhu reached the top 5, she used the Q&A session to deliver a message about climate change. “This is the time to take action and talk less,” she said. “Prevent and protect is better than repent and repair.”
21-year-old Sandhu is no stranger to the modeling industry; she’s won titles like Times Fresh Face Miss Chandigarh 2017, Max Emerging Star India 2018 and Femina Miss Punjab India 2019. Since becoming Miss Universe India 2021 earlier this year, she’s also starred in Punjabi films named Yaara Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange.
This year’s Miss Universe contest is the second in the Covid era. Before the big event this year, Israel’s borders were slated to open to vaccinated tourists, allowing thousands of fans to attend. However, the Israeli government sealed its borders to outsiders two weeks before the competition due to the emergence of the new Omicron variant, causing travel arrangements and preparations to fall apart. Miss France was one of the contestants who tested positive for the virus upon arrival in Israel and quarantined. Still, she could leave just in time for the preliminary competition on Friday.
