| Formation | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Lusaka |
| Location | |
| Membership | Miss Universe |
Official language | English |
President | Tendai Hunda Zodwa Mkandla (National Director) |
| Website | missuniversezambia.com |
Miss Universe Zambia is a beauty pageant to select Zambian women to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. The current President is Tendai Hunda and Zodwa Mkandla designated as the national director of Miss Universe Zambia.
Zambia's first attempt to compete in the Miss Universe was in 1993, with the Miss Zambia 1992, Elizabeth Mwanza but nevertheless she could not arrive in Mexico to compete due to problems with the Mexican visa. She postponed her participation to the following year, and she had the same problem with the Filipino visa, and she finally gave up participating in the Miss Universe.
The Miss Universe Zambia pageant headquartered in Lusaka and created first winning pageant, Luo Trica Punabantu of Lusaka to Miss Universe 1995 in Windhoek, Namibia. In this period the Miss Zambia Universe organizer was Eva Kazembe and she had only had contributed in 1995 edition of Miss Universe. She had already chosen queens in 1996 (Tamara Kalube) and in 1997 (Kusobile Kamwambi), but none of them competed in Miss Universe pageant due to the lack of funds, problems with the American visa, in addition that Organization did not delivering them the promised awards. In 1998, Eva lost the franchise.
Miss Zambia Pageant obtained the license again for 2 years and contributed to Zambia's second participation in the Miss Universe with Esanju Kalopa, Miss Zambia 1998 pageant first princess in Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago. The following year the followed participation was planned with Sidonia Mwape, Miss Zambia 1999 pageant first princess but due lack of money and sponsors, she could not compete in the Miss Universe 2000, in Nicosia, Cyprus. Miss Zambia Pageant was delayed by 3 years until 2003 due lack of money and sponsors, and the organizers decided droped the Miss Universe licence in 2001.
After a hiatus of 5 years, the Miss Universe Zambia took over by Mrs. Wendy Chandra-Fornari in Lusaka. The Miss Universe Zambia winners mostly achieved high placement in another beauty competitions such as Miss Tourism Queen International and Miss Africa International. On May 28, 2010, the last Miss Universe Zambia under Mrs. Wendy was Alice Rowlands Musukwa of Chipata. She represented Zambia in Miss Universe 2010 edition in Las Vegas, USA. [1]
The license holder of Miss Universe in Zambia between 2017 and 2019 was in Alice Rowlands, former Miss Universe Zambia 2010.
A new era is beginning, providing an open space for Zambia to return to Miss Universe. Starting in 2024, Tendai Hunda will take over the Miss Universe Zambia license, working closely with the Zambian team and Zodwa Mkandla, the new national director of Miss Universe Zambia.
| Year | Province | Miss Universe Zambia | Placement at Miss Universe | Special Awards | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tundai Hunda directorship — a franchise holder to Miss Universe from 2024 | ||||||
| 2024 | Copperbelt | Brandina Lubuli[ citation needed ] | Unplaced | |||
| Alice Musukwa directorship — a franchise holder to Miss Universe between 2017―2019 | ||||||
| Did not compete between 2020-2023 | ||||||
| 2019 | Lusaka | Didia Mukwala | Did not compete | Didia decided to quit from Miss Universe 2019, due to lack of sponsorships. | ||
| 2018 | Southern Province | Melba Shakabozha | Unplaced | |||
| 2017 | Copperbelt | Isabel Chikoti | Unplaced | |||
| Wendy Chandra-Fornari directorship — a franchise holder to Miss Universe between 2005―2010 | ||||||
| Did not compete between 2011—2016 | ||||||
| 2010 | Eastern Province | Alice Rowlands Musukwa | Unplaced | |||
| 2009 | Luapula | Andella Chileshe Matthews [2] | Unplaced | |||
| Did not compete in 2008 | ||||||
| 2007 | Lusaka | Rosemary Chileshe | Unplaced | |||
| 2006 | Southern Province | Mofya Nickoleta Chisenga† [3] | Unplaced | |||
| 2005 | Lusaka | Cynthia Kanema | Unplaced | |||
| Miss Universe Zambia (another agency) directorship — a franchise holder to Miss Universe between 1993―2000 | ||||||
| Did not compete between 2001—2004 | ||||||
| 2000 | Lusaka | Sidonia Mwape | Did not compete | Sidonia decided to quit from Miss Universe 2000, due to lack of sponsorships. | ||
| 1999 | Muchinga | Esanju Kalopa† | Unplaced | |||
| Did not compete between 1997—1998 | ||||||
| 1996 | Lusaka | Tamara Kalube | Did not compete | |||
| 1995 | Lusaka | Luo Trica Punabantu | Unplaced | |||
| Did not compete in 1994 | ||||||
| 1993 | Lusaka | Elizabeth Mwanza | Did not compete | |||
| Province | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lusaka | 7 | 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2019 |
| Copperbelt | 2 | 2017, 2024 |
| Bulawayo | 2006, 2018 | |
| Eastern Province | 1 | 2010 |
| Luapula | 2009 | |
| Muchinga | 1999 | |
