The audience welcomed the return of Steve Harvey to Miss Universe stage as host, assured they would have an entertaining evening during the grand coronation.
Of course, it is unlikely to have another Philippines-Colombia blunder like in 2015, the year Steve announced the wrong winner.
But the pageant fans looked forward to his wisecracks.
They were in for a lot of candid moments, too, but they were more laughable and cheery rather than embarrassing.
With Steve's waggish way of asking questions, he made the contestants feel less giddy during his brief interviews with them.
And to the surprise of eveyone, some ladies did let their hair down during their chats with Steve, delighting the audience even more.
But, definitely, it was a double pride moment for the Pinoys with the Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera sitting in the selection committee and our very own Beatrice Luigi Gomez making it to the Top 5!
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) lists down some of the lighthearted moments at the recently concluded Miss Universe 2021 pageant held last Sunday, December 13, 2021, in Israel.
1. Miss Puerto Rico teaches Steve Harvey to dance Bombo.
During the Top 16 brief interviews, Steve asked Miss Puerto Rico Michelle Colon about her doing an Afro-Caribbean dance called Bombo, could she teach him the dance steps?
But apparently changing his mind, he said, “I don’t want to know how to do this…”
He asked Michelle instead to just do the dance to which she replied, “Of course. But I think you’ll love the Caribbean so you’ll definitely love this.”
They put on quite a show as Steve gamely did a few steps with Miss Puerto Rico!
2. Miss India shows her secret talent: meowing on stage!
Even before she was crowned Miss Universe, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu already stole the show when she showed her secret talent!
Steve outed her when he revealed that Harnaaz could do “some pretty good animal impersonations.”
A bit taken aback, Harnaaz said, “I was not expecting to do this on world stage, but I have to do this, I have no other option!”
Harnaaz then shared her love for cats and her enjoyment at mimicking her pets.
Next thing, she was telling the audience, “Brace yourselves, everyone” before doing a meowing sound and imitating a cat’s hand position!
3. Miss Aruba’s surprised face and “threat” to replace Steve Harvey!
Miss Aruba Thessaly Zimmerman was totally stunned when her country was called as one of the Top 16!
Although smiling, Thessaly was speechless and simply nodded her head when Steve remarked, “You look very surprised.”
When she finally found her voice and answered “Yes, I am,” Steve reminded Thessaly that her mouth was still open.
The candidate then comically tapped her chin to close her mouth.
In his brief spiel, Steve mentioned Thessaly's hope to become a TV host someday.
He then asked her what show she would like to host.
Quick as a whip, Thessaly quipped, “Well Steve, if I have to say, you better look out for your job because I’m coming for it.”
Steve laughed and remarked, “That’s so nice.”
4. Pinoy crowd screaming for Beatrice Luigi Gomez wows Steve Harvey.
One proud Pinoy moment was when Miss Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez was finally called after 13 countries were announced in Top 16.
Steve Harvey was amused and surprised by the loud cheers from the crowd that he had to remind everyone that they were still in Israel and not in the Philippines!
Steve went on to interview Bea and asked about the cherry blossom tattoo she got on her 23rd birthday.
According to Bea, the tattoo symbolizes “rebirth and new beginning” and as a constant reminder to “celebrate my womanhood.”
5. Proud Pinoy moment: Marian Rivera as a member of the pageant's panel of judges this year.
She looked gorgeous in a shimmering Francis Libiran gown!
When she was introduced by Steve as a “recording artist and award-winning TV and film and television star in the Philippines," Pinoys were reminded that Marian had two best-selling dance albums: Marian Rivera Dance Hits in 2008 and Retro Crazy in 2009.
6. Miss Philippines and Miss Colombia hugging each other after failing to make it the Top 3.
Beatrice Luigi Gomez and Miss Colombia Valeria Ayos had a Top 5 finish in this year's pageant.
The known rivalry between the Philippines and Colombia each year in the world of pageantry grew more intense in the aftermath of Pia Wurtzbach and Ariadna Gutierrez facing off in the 2015 edition of Miss Universe.
It seemed to have ended at this year's pageant when, failing to make it to Top 3, Bea and Valeria gave each other a comforting hug before they left the stage.
The top 3 finalists were Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu, and Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira.
7. Steve Harvey made a play of referring to Paraguay as Portugal!
Pia Wurtzbach winning the 2015 Miss Universe crown has left a lasting memory in the pageant's history.
As it happened, Steve mistakenly announced that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez won the title.
Since then, in his succeeding stints as the pageant's host, Steve would always refer to that moment during his announcement of the winner.
At this year's grand coronation night of Miss Universe, when the results were handed to him, Steve remarked, “You good? Don’t want problems.”
He then called South Africa, the 2nd runner-up, which left Paraguay and India vying for the crown.
As Steve was congratulating the two beauty queens, he blurted out Portugal instead of Paraguay!
Obviously faking annoyance, he grumbled, “They wrote Portugal on the damn sign trying to play me again! They’re trying to get me again, but I’m not going for it this year!”
Miss Paraguay and Miss India, meanwhile, had a good time watching Steve's act.
Of course, the new Miss Universe is Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu.
The crown was relinquished to her by Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza, who had her own tearful reaction during her win.
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