Location and date
On 16 November 2024, at Miss Universe 2024, pageant co-owner Raúl Rocha Cantú announced that the shortlisted host cities for the 74th edition of the pageant were in Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Morocco, India, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand. [8] [9]
The Miss Universe Organization announced Thailand as the host country on 7 February 2025, designating the Impact Challenger Hall in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, as the central venue with ancillary events scheduled for Phuket and Pattaya. This will mark the fourth time that Thailand hosted the pageant, and the third time the event will be held in the said venue after the 2005 and 2018 pageants. [10] [11] On April 23, Thai businessman Nawat Itsaragrisil became the executive director of the pageant. [12]
On 25 October, Itsaragrisil confirmed that the pageant will proceed as scheduled despite the one-year mourning period declared following the death of Sirikit, the former queen consort of Thailand, the day before. However, the organizers modified the pageant's format and its related activities in accordance with the recommendations of the Thai government to fit the "mourning atmosphere" of the period. [13] [14]
Selection of participants
Among the delegates designated as of 6 November 2025, twenty-five were appointed to the position after being runner-up in their national pageant, [a] or being chosen through a casting process, [b] while four were selected to replace an original winner.
From June to July 2025, Telemundo aired the reality show Miss Universe Latina, el reality in the United States, which selected an additional delegate representing Hispanic and Latina Americans in the country, designated as Latina. [21] [22] [23]
Replacements
Déborah Djema was originally crowned Miss Universe D.R. Congo 2025, but was later dethroned after refusing to sign a mandatory contract required by the national organization. She was replaced by Dorcas Dienda. [24] [25] [26]
Sihlé Letren of Trinidad and Tobago resigned from her title as Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago 2025 for personal reasons, She was succeeded by her first runner-up, Latifah Morris. [27] [28] [29]
Miss Polski 2025, Oliwia Mikulska was scheduled to compete; however, she was replaced by Emily Reng, a new representative from Miss Polonia. [30] [31]
Miss Universe China 2024, Xuhe Hou, was set to compete but withdrew for personal reasons. [32] She was replaced by Zhao Na, who assumed the Miss Universe China 2025 title. [33] [34] [35]
Debuts, returns, and withdrawals
This edition will mark the debuts of Cape Verde, Mayotte, Palestine, and Rwanda. [36] [37] [38] [39] The Palestinian debut received heightened media attention due to its timing amid the ongoing Gaza war, which had attracted extensive international discourse among experts and human rights organizations. [40] [41]
Additionally, this edition will feature the returns of Iraq and Slovenia, which last competed in 2017; [42] [43] Sweden in 2021; [44] Ghana and Haiti in 2022; [45] and Kosovo, Panama, and South Africa in 2023. [46] [47] [48]
Conversely, Bahrain withdrew after its respective organization failed to hold a national competition. [49]
Sahar Biniaz of Iran withdrew from the competition, citing concern for her national director's safety following reports of the director's detention in Iran. [50] [51] Meanwhile, Josiane Golonga of Cameroon, Diana Fast of Germany, and Zoulahatou Amadou of Niger did not arrive in the host country for personal reasons. [52] [53] [37]
