Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe on Sunday in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, topping a field of some 80 contestants in a pageant that was touched by politics and the pandemic.
A grassroots Palestinian-led boycott had urged contestants to skip the event to protest Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
In the end, only Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the global COVID-19 situation. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause, withdrew support for the country’s representative over her participation.