Panama Poised to Crown Miss Universe 2003

Mon June 2, 2003 04:02 PM ET By Robin Emmott

PANAMA CITY (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Panama will host the 2003 Miss Universe pageant on Tuesday night in a carnival atmosphere and, in the tradition of international beauty contests, a whiff of scandal.

From Albania to Venezuela, 71 beauty queens will show off their poise, curves and quick wit in a contest that mixes parades in swimsuits and evening gowns with questions such as: "What makes you blush?"

The organization barred Miss Russia, Maria Smirnova, from competing discovering she had posed topless in Playboy in 2000. She was replaced by 20-year-old Olesya Bondarenko.

Last year's winner, Russia's Oxana Fedorova, was fired because she failed to fulfill the responsibilities of Miss Universe, the first time a winner had been relieved of her post. Runner up Panama's Justine Pasek took over the crown.

This year, doubts over whether Venezuela could afford to enter this year's Miss Universe contest were only resolved a week before the final.

Miss Venezuela's sponsor, television channel Venevision, said it could now obtain the funds needed to send entrant Mariangel Ruiz to the contest, despite currency controls imposed by Caracas to stem capital flight.

"I have to thank God for bringing me here," Ruiz, a delighted 23-year-old economics student, told Reuters as she prepared for the contest at a convention center overlooking the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.

Miss Universe, jointly owned by property tycoon Donald Trump and NBC Television and launched by a swimsuit company 52 years ago, draws a global television audience estimated by organizers at 600 million people in 176 countries.