Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega of Colombia relinquished her crown to the new Miss Universe on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Paulina Vega, #MissUniverse 2014, graces the stage. https://t.co/bTK0ymYSjN
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015
However, before taking her final walk as the most beautiful woman on the planet, she gave a short message to all the candidates in this year’s competition.
“These ladies need to know that they’re already winners,” Vega, 22, said.
In addition, Miss Colombia 2014 said that she is proud and honored to represent her country.
Vega was the first Colombian beauty queen to win Miss Universe in over 55 years.
Aside from sharing a short message to all the delegates, Paulina also gave some word of advice to the new Miss Universe.
https://t.co/SA5skrGEsG https://t.co/LHy16wGERl
— Pia Wurtzbach (@MissUFans) December 14, 2015
Vega said that winning the title isn’t the most important part of becoming Miss Universe. She should also have a plan for what she will accomplish in her year as the title-holder.
The former beauty queen also said that being Miss Universe is a ‘24/7’ job.
“She has to be aware that she’s going to have such a huge platform around the world and she can really do whatever she wants, so I hope that she takes advantage of the opportunity and will do something good for society,” she said.
During her stint as Miss U, Vega helped in spreading awareness on HIV and AIDS. In fact, she said that she plans to continue her work even after her time as Miss Universe.
1 day away from #worldaidsday2015. Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega took the HIV test today. Prevention is life pic.twitter.com/sQ1j0Tk8rJ — Guillermo Chacon (@gchacon11) November 30, 2015
On Sunday night’s show, which aired on Fox, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the title, but with some added drama and controversy.
Host Steve Harvey initially announced the winner to be Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, but later on admitted to his mistake. Vega needed to take away the crown from Arevalo and rightfully place it on the head of Wurtzbach.
Props to Miss Colombia, Miss Philippines and Paulina Vega! They handled it like true pros! #MissUniverse2015 pic.twitter.com/v0y9Wz2zDc
— Latin Times (@thelatintimes) December 21, 2015