Miss Universe 2012 Live Stream, Winner Announced Tonight; 16 Finalists Compete at 8 p.m. PST
The 2012 Miss Universe competition starts tonight at 8 p.m. PST broadcast on NBC live from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
UPDATE: Miss Universe 2012 Top 16 Revealed!
The show will feature 89 of the most beautiful women of the world vying for the top honor currently held by 2011 winner Leila Lopes.
A preliminary competition was held on Dec. 13 where the women were judged in segments that included bathing suits, evening gowns, and an interview.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, the contestants were narrowed down to 16 finalists who will be announced later this evening. Viewers who missed the only preliminary round can watch last night's broadcast on the competition's website.
The preliminary event was followed by a national costume show where the contestants got to display a variety of interesting outfits for fans.
Fans had a chance to vote for their favorite contestant until last night when the voting period ended. Viewers can still get involved by submitting questions to the pageant's Twitter account that will be asked lived during the broadcast.
Andy Cohen, Executive Vice President of Development and Talent for Bravo, will return to host this year's beauty competition for the second time in a row. He will be joined by E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic.
Some of the celebrity judges include Cee Lo Green and Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, according to The Associated Press. The group of ten judges will be led by pageant owner Donald Trump.
Other judges include baseball player, Pablo Sandoval, actor Diego Boneta, Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto, photographer Nigel Barker, celebrity stylist Brad Goreski, and reality star Lisa Vanderpump.
The show will also feature a musical performance by Grammy-award winning group Train and Australian singer Timomatic.
The show will end with Lopes crowning her successor.
Lopes was the first Miss Universe from Angola and has spent her year helping with humanitarian efforts around the world to combat poverty, hunger and disease.
The 2012 Miss Universe Pageant broadcasts live on Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. PST. Click here to watch Miss Universe 2012 online.
