Andrea Meza of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe 2020, defeating contestants from 74 other countries, including Miss India Adline Castelino, who finished fourth in the beauty pageant.
In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the 69th edition of the festival, held on Sunday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, was a scaled-down affair.
According to the Miss Universe website, the 26-year-old Meza was crowned by her predecessor, South African Zozibini Tunzi, who won the pageant in 2019.
Although Julia Gama, 28, of Brazil finished second, Janick Maceta (27) of Peru finished seventh.
The event held in Florida saw India’s Adline Castelino coming in at the fourth spot. The 22-year-old, who traces her roots to Udupi in Karnataka, won Miss Diva 2020 making her India’s representative at Miss Universe, this year. Congratulating Adline on her successful journey, the official Twitter account of Miss Diva said, “3rd Runner-Up for India at Miss Universe…Congratulations Adline Castelino. You have made us immensely proud! Your resilience, determination, and grace shined throughout the competition, and the hard work you’ve put in your journey reflected in you this night! We are proud of you.”
During the pageant, Adline received praise for her well-rounded response in the question-answer round. She was asked: “Should countries lockdown due to COVID-19 despite the strain on their economies, or should they open their borders and risk a potential increase in infection rates?”
To this, the model responded, “Good evening universe. Well, coming from India and witnessing what India is experiencing right now, I have realized something very important that nothing is more important than the health of your loved ones. And you have to draw a balance between economy and health. And that can only be done when the government works with the people hand in hand and produces something that will work with the economy. Thank you.”
The three-hour competition was presented by Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo and featured singer Luis Fonsi of “Despacito” fame.
This is Mexico’s third Miss Universe title, after Ximena Navarrete and Lupita Jones in 2010 and 1991, respectively.
