Miss Universe pageant host Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner at the end of Sunday night's big show in Las Vegas and was forced to make an embarrassing apology.
After announcing Miss USA, Olivia Jordan, as the third runner-up, Harvey initially named Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, as the night's big winner, relegating the remaining contestant, Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurzbach, to the second runner-up spot.
But after Arevalo received the crown and a bouquet of flowers, Harvey announced he had made an error and that Wurzbach was in fact the winner. It meant Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, 21, of Colombia, who had already been crowned, had to take off the glitzy trinket and hand it to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, a 26-year-old actress and model from the Philippines.
A stunned Wurzbach, who had taken her place with the other contestants behind Arevalo, then walked out to center stage. Last year's Miss Universe, Colombia's Paulina Vega, then removed the crown from Avrevalo's head and placed it on Wurtzbach.
With both pageant contestants standing at the front of the stage, the show concluded.
Harvey, who was hosting the contest for the first time, held up the card announcing the order of finishers for Fox network cameras to see up close afterward. He said he re-read the card and noticed it said "first runner-up" next to the Colombia contestant's name before he asked producers if he had made a mistake. Talking with reporters afterward, Harvey and an executive for pageant owner WME-IMG called it human error.
Harvey wrote on Twitter: "I'd like to apologise wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake.
"I feel terrible."
Wurtzbach later said she felt conflicting emotions as the mistake happened: joy when she was told she had indeed won, concern for Aravelo and confusion at the whole situation.
Wurtzbach said she tried to approach Aravelo onstage afterward but the Colombian was crying and surrounded by a crowd of women. She said she realized it was, "probably bad timing."
"I did not take the crown from her," Wurtzbach told reporters after the pageant concluded, saying she wished the contestant from Colombia well and hoped the Latin American community understands that "none of this was my fault."
"None of this was done on purpose. It was an honest mistake," she said, apologizing on behalf of the organization she now represents. She said Harvey told her afterward that she "should just enjoy the moment."
It was the first Miss Universe title won by a contestant from the Philippines for more than 40 years. However, it's the third time a contestant from the Philippines has ever won the title. It could have been the second win in a row for Colombia.
It was also the first time viewers had a chance to vote on the winner, rating contestants in the swimwear, evening gown and interview competitions.
Shortly before the end of the contest,
a car mounted a pavement close to the Las Vegas venue and ploughed into pedestrians, killing one person and injuring at least 37 others.
Police have said the fatal crash was intentional.
New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration, friendship and, most of all, reflection. As we look back on a year filled with ups and downs, we’re anxiously hoping for more ups in the coming year.
