Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua was crowned Miss Universe at a ceremony in El Salvador on Saturday.
The 23-year-old beauty queen runs a charity which raises funds to mitigate the consequences of natural disasters in her home country.
The first runner-up was Anntonia Porsild of Thailand, followed by Moraya Wilson of Australia.
The organizers had changed the rules in an effort to make the competition more “inclusive,” allowing married women and mothers to participate for the first time.
This year’s pageant included two transgender contestants – Rikkie Kolle of the Netherlands and Marine Machete of Portugal. Machete finished among the Top-20 finalists.
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Erica Robin was the first woman to represent Pakistan. She wore a pink ‘burkini’ during the swimsuit portion of the show.
Jane Dipika Garrett from Nepal, meanwhile, became the first plus-size model to compete for the title.
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