The 66th Miss Universe Pageant kicks off in Vegas

This year, the competition reaches the 90+ mark

After days of arrivals, the Miss Universe delegates had their first official event, the Welcome Dinner held at Buca di Beppo in Las Vegas, which is already a tradition everytime the competition is held in this beautiful city.

Aside from being very active in Social Media, the contestants have been busy shooting promotional videos, photos and B-roll materials for the finals to take place November 26th at the Axis Theater located inside the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, official host hotel of the 66th Miss Universe.

Some interesting facts about this year:

-It is the first time in the history of the pageant that the contestants reach the 90 mark; this year there are 93 competitors.  

-Four delegates competed in last year's Miss Grand International, also held in Las Vegas: They are Iceland, Romania, Peru and Vietnam.

-Iraq returns to the pageant for the first time since 1972

-The preliminary competition will be held one week before, on November 20th. It will be a closed door event (no tickets will be available for this one) but it will be streamed live on YouTube.

-Odds favor Miss South Africa, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, to win the crown; however the competition is just starting so anything could happen.  Early favorites include France, Venezuela, India, USA, Thailand and Jamaica

-This year marks the debut in Miss Universe of Nepal, Laos and Cambodia.

-There are some minor events coming up this week, but the first official competition will take place on Saturday when all contestants will present their national costumes.

-Although the pageant this year was shortened to two weeks, some delegates took over 12 suitcases.

Stay tuned for GB's second leaderboard, to come out shortly!