Miss Colombia Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe

The 63rd edition of Miss Universe finalizes Paulina Vega of Colombia as the winner. In an annual pageant conducted on 25th of January 2015 was broadcasted on NBC from FIU Arena at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA, contestants representing 88 countries from all over the world competed for the winning tiara. 22 years of age business student Paulina who stands five feet and nine inches tall was born on January 15, 1993 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the daughter of cardiologist Rodolfo Vega Llamas and Laura Diepp. A business administration student and a model since she was 8 years of age Paulina graduated from a German school in Colombia and speaks English and a bit of French during her spare time. She enjoys being with her family and friends and also loves going to the park with her dog Mateo.

The 63rd edition of the Miss Universe pageant, geared up with the traditional parade of eye-catching national costumes followed by swimsuit round and evening gown round performance. The event got Nia Sanchez from USA as the first runner-up while the second runner-up was Diana Harkusha from Ukraine. Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell and Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen were also among the top five finalists. The delegates from Argentina, Australia, Phillipines, Spain and Venezuela made to the top ten lists while Brazil, France, India, Indonesia and Italy were not able proceed beyond top fifteen.

As the pageant, Paulina Vega was been crowned by the winner of previous edition Gabriela Isler of Venezuela with a new crown manufactured by Diamonds International, the newest official jewelry sponsor of Miss Universe organization. It was said that Craftsmen spent over 3,000 hours to create this beautiful and timeless crown with a very unique infrastructure, inspired by design elements of various royal crowns throughout history. The crown symbolizes and expresses the beauty, stability, confidence and power of women around the world. The weighs 411 grams and is estimated value of $300,000. As Miss Universe, Vega will receive an undisclosed salary, a luxury apartment in New York, a wardrobe and oodles of beauty products, and a one-year scholarship from the New York Film Academy.

After winning Miss Universe 2015, Vega became second woman from Colombia to triumph on the crown of Miss Universe since 1958 when Luz Marina Zuluaga became the first to take home the title. Vega has become the fourth woman from South America to win the pageant in the past seven years, with contestants from Venezuela being the winner of the last year as well as in the year 2007 and 2008.

Among the special awards of Miss Universe Queen Celestine of Nigeria was been chosen as Miss Congeniality, While Gabriela Bemos of Puerto Rico was awarded as Miss Photogenic. The award of Best National costume went to Elvira Devinamira of Indonesia. Indonesia’s costume comes from Central Java and depicts the UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Borobudur Temple. The temple was built with the concept of promoting and establishing serene spiritual living just like the purpose of becoming the Miss Universe.
– By Rojin Shakya