Leila Lopes, Miss Angola and representative of Africa, carried off the crown Monday of Miss Universe. The young beauty, who wore a strapless dress in champagne color, became the universal beauty queen and won the thunderous applause of the Brazilian public, from whom she received strong support at all times.
89 candidates in total took part in the 16th edition of Miss Universe. The gala and coronation were started to the rhythm of samba in the Credicard Hall auditorium of Sao Paolo.
Before being elected, Lopes and the other three finalists were submitted by the jury to an interview. Lopes was very confident and charismatic, which helped her get the jury eating out of her hand; she wasn’t one of the favorites before this. At the end of this interview, one juror asked the finalists to point out what part of themselves they would change if they could. Lopes said she was very satisfied and grateful with her appearance and she owned a great inside beauty, so she declared she would not change anything.
With these wise words, the Angolan showed showed how high intelligence and humility can lead a person.
She is the first Angolan and the third black woman to win the title of Miss Universe. Ukrainian Olesia Stefanko came in second in the competition while Brazilian candidate Priscila Machado, Filipino candidate Shamcey Supsup, and Chinese contestant Luo Zilin were first, second and third princess respectively.
Lopes is a business management student in Britain. She is 25 years old and measures 5.87 feet. After being proclaimed the winner, she said, according to Antena 3 “Thanks God, thank you very much. It was what I asked for. I fulfilled my dream, I am Miss Universe … My life just changed , it sure is going to be a long walk.”
The Angolan will sign a one-year contract with the Miss Universe contest organization and receive vocational training, participating in events around the world during the year that will last her contract.