(Newswire.net — December 21, 2015) — The Miss Universe contest was held in Las Vegas, on Sunday night. Beauties from 80 countries around the world, between the ages of 19 and 27, competed for the title of Miss Universe.
The Master of Ceremonies Steve Harvey, mistakenly crowned the wrong contestant. “Miss Universe 2015 is…Colombia”, he yelled from the stage. Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, Miss Colombia, was waving to the audience with the crown on her head, winner’s bouquet in her hands and Miss Universe sash across her shoulder, when Steve sounded again, and interrupted her triumph.
“I have to apologize”, he said, walking back on stage. “Miss Columbia is first runner-up. Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines” he added.
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Philippines and true Miss Universe 2015, slowly walked to the front of the stage, and for a few unpleasant moments, the two finalists, one from Columbia and one from Philippines, stood side by side, in front of millions of viewers in a TV audience from around the world.
Harvey interrupted the awkward situation and explained that he read the card naming the winner and runner-up in the wrong order.
“It was only my mistake, I feel so badly and I will take responsibility for this horrible mistake, but I can show the card to you right here” he said to the audience, holding up the card with the name of the winners, AP reports.
“It is my mistake, but it’s still a great night”, he added.
While Harvey described how he made a mistake, former Miss Universe winner quickly removed the crown from Arevalo and placed it on Wurtzbach.
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015 said to the reporters that she feels sorry. “It was an honest mistake. I did not take the crown from her”, she said.
It is not the first time that the wrong woman has been named the winner of the beauty contest. During a live television broadcast, in 2010, in Australia, host Sarah Murdoch read out the wrong winner’s name of Australia’s Next Top Model.