Australia, Philippines, US among Miss Universe finalists
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 26, 2015 3:22 AM
DORAL, United States - Beauties from Australia, India, Jamaica, the Philippines and the United States were among the 15 finalists selected Sunday in the Miss Universe pageant under way in Florida.
Misses from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine and Venezuela rounded out the 15 competitors still in the running from the original field of 88 to succeed current Miss Universe Gabriela Isler, of Venezuela.
The pageant geared up with the traditional parade of eye-catching national costumes, at Florida International University in Doral.
Ten judges will decide who the next Miss Universe will be, including Cuban-American music mogul Emilio Estefan, Cuban soap opera star William Levy and Philippine boxing great Manny Pacquiao.
The event is actually the 2014 Miss Universe pageant. The event was pushed back until now to try to get a bigger television audience.
The contest, owned by Donald Trump, is watched by about 600 million worldwide, pageant officials say.