It was quite an interesting evening last night on NBC as Miss Venezuela stunned the crowd and the judges with her beauty and took the crow along with all of the immaculate rewards that came with it as Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe 2008. Online betting giant BetUS.com had Dayana Mendoza a +600 odds favorite to win the pageant.

 

The worlds best and most elegant beauties strutted their stuff on the stage at the Crown Convention Center (Diamond Bay Resort) in Nha Trang, Vietnam. With 80 contestants in the pageant it was tough to tell who would come out the victor of the luxurious event. Since the end of the Vietnam war, this was the largest USA-based broadcast from Vietnam. This is also the first time ever that the Miss Universe contest was held in 1080i HD, which made it nicer to be able to see all the beauty these girls had to offer.

 

Another highlight of the night, or more suitably, low-light is Miss USA, Crystle Stewart falling flat on her face during the Evening Gown competition. This is the first time the has happened for the Miss USA contestant. Last year, Miss USA, Rachel Smith fell down also during the Evening Gown part of the competition in the Miss Universe 2007 pageant held in Mexico. When Smith made it to the top five in last years event she received boos from the audience. This is also the first time in pageant history a contestant fell down during the Evening Gown competition in two consecutive pageants, from the same country, or from any country.

 

The top five finalists this year were: 4th runner up Elisa Najera - Miss Mexico, 3rd runner up Vera Krasova - Miss Russia, 2nd runner up Marianne Cruz - Miss Dominican Republic, first runner up Taliana Vargas - Miss Colombia, and Miss Universe 2008 was Dayana Mendoza - Miss Venezuela. Do you notice that 4 out of 5 of the finalists were from South America? This should be no surprise seeing as how since the beginning pf the Miss Universe pageant back in 1952, more than half of the winners have been from the Americas, mainly Latin America.

 

Although the main attraction of the night was to see who would be crowned Miss Universe 2008, there were also some other special awards given out to different contestants. Rebeca Moreno, Miss Salvador, won Miss Congeniality, Best National Costume went to Gavintra Photijak of Thailand, Best in Bikini - Queen of Vinpearl went to Elisa Najera - Miss Mexico, and finally, Best in áo dài went to Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza. Ao dài is a Vietnamese costume for women.

 

Dayana Mendoza, 22, received her prize package which included - cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free, prestigious New York City flat, luxury apartment and a gift bag stuffed with free designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a $100,000 stipend for a 2-year course at the New York Film Academy and free access to famous fashion houses and beauty parlors. She will travel all year around the world to lecture on humanitarian issues and promote education regarding HIV/AIDS.

 

Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza leads an interesting life of modeling, fashion, photography, wave surfing, and a myriad of other activities that she engages in. She was once kidnapped in Venezuela and stated the trauma taught her to remain poised under pressure. She is also trilingual speaking Spanish, English, and Italian.

 

Overall it was an interesting night. From Miss USA falling to Miss Venezuela blowing away the rest of the competition. It was a night of beauty and glamour, and let down for those who did not win, or fell on their face. Dayana Mendoza rose above the rest and took home the crown to her country of Venezuela. Now we must wait a whole more year to see beautiful model like that presented last night all in the same room again.