Who are Central America’s contestants at Miss Universe 2024?

The 73rd edition of the annual Miss Universe contest is approaching. This year, the prestigious beauty pageant will be held in Mexico City on November 16 - and is set to be the largest in the event’s history.

Representatives from some 130 countries worldwide, including several Central American nations, are to battle it out to become the 2024 recipient of the Miss Universe crown.

What is the Miss Universe 2024 schedule?

Although there are over two weeks to go until the Miss Universe 2024 grand final, contestants are already in Mexico to participate in build-up activities. Ahead of the main show, beauty queens will attend events including a fundraising gala on Friday November 1, an ‘unveiling of the crown’ cocktail party on Tuesday November 12, and an afternoon tea with the reigning Miss Universe, Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios, on Friday November 15.

The Miss Universe participants will compete in preliminary rounds two days before the grand final, as well as appearing in a national costume contest.

Meet Central America’s Miss Universe 2024 contestants

Belize

Halima Hoy was the first Central American representative to be chosen, when she was crowned Miss Belize in April. Hoy is 29 years old, is a personal trainer and studies kinesiology.

Costa Rica

In September, Edela Hidalgo was proclaimed Miss Costa Rica 2024. From the Costa Rican capital, San José, Hidalgo is 32 and is a professional model.

El Salvador

Also in September, Florence García became Miss El Salvador 2024. The 25-year-old, who is from the Salvadoran city of San Miguel, is a model and broadcast host.

Guatemala

At the end of August, Ana Gabriela Villanueva Jolón was confirmed as Guatemala’s representative at Miss Universe 2024. Villanueva had finished as first runner-up in this summer’s Miss Guatemala pageant, but was nominated to replace the winner, Mónica Andrea Aguilar Radford, who pulled out after announcing that she is pregnant.

Villanueva, 22, is from Santa Rosa, and is a student of legal and social sciences.

Honduras

Stephanie Cam, a 31-year-old model and dancer, was crowned Miss Honduras in August. Cam, who is from San Pedro Sula, is the first mother to represent the country at Miss Universe.

Nicaragua

Ahead of the country’s bid to claim a second straight Miss Universe victory, Nicaraguan organisers did not hold a national beauty contest this year. Instead, Geysell García, a 29-year-old model who loves travelling, fashion and cooking, was chosen as Nicaragua’s contestant.

Panama

Italy Mora, a 19-year-old model and sports lover from Riviera del Canal, will be the Panamanian representative in Mexico. The 19-year-old earned her country’s ticket to Miss Universe after being crowned Miss Panama 2024 in August.

Miss Universe 2024: time, how to buy tickets, watch on TV/online

Held on Saturday November 16 at the 22,000-capacity Arena Ciudad de México, the Miss Universe 2024 grand final is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT).

You can buy tickets to the final show, and the preliminaries, on the Miss Universe website.

Viewers in the United States are expected to be able to watch Miss Universe 2024 in English on the streaming service the Roku Channel, and in Spanish on Telemundo. In 2023, it was announced that Roku and Telemundo had agreed “multi-year” distribution deals with the Miss Universe Organization.