At 40, Miss Malta becomes Miss Universe's oldest competitor ever
What's the story
Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, an animal protection advocate and aspiring lawyer from Denmark, has made history by becoming the first Danish woman to win the Miss Universe crown.
The 73rd edition of the competition was held in Mexico City where she defeated Miss Nigeria.
Meanwhile, this year's Miss Universe pageant was also special for lifting its decades-long age limit of 28 years, which paved the way for Miss Malta.
Here's how.
Age limit change
40-year-old mother became the oldest woman to reach pageant's finale
Interestingly, over 25 of the 120 finalists were older than the previous age restriction.
This change allowed Malta's Beatrice Njoya, a 40-year-old single mother and domestic violence survivor, to become the oldest woman to reach the pageant's finale.
Njoya spoke about societal expectations and chasing dreams: "When you reach a certain age, society wants to tell you what to wear and how to behave."
"If something is your dream, you can still find time for it."
Event highlights
Miss Universe 2024: A spectacle of global representation
The Miss Universe pageant opened with 131 mariachi musicians and singer Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas performing Mexicana, a song by Emilio Estefan.
The gala was hosted by Mario Lopez, Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo, presenter Zuri Hall, and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.
The pageant also witnessed the participation of several countries for the first time. Belarus, Eritrea, Guinea, Macau, Maldives, Moldova, and Uzbekistan were among them.
This year marked the third time Mexico hosted the pageant.