This was the first edition of the pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which purchased the Miss Universe Organization from Donald Trump on September 14, 2015.

[1] Consequently, it was also the first Miss Universe event to be aired by Fox and Azteca as the pageant's respective English and Spanish broadcasters instead of NBC.

[2][3][4] At the end of the event, Paulina Vega of Colombia crowned Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines as Miss Universe 2015.

[12][13] The pageant took place in The AXIS theatre of Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

[19][20] Barbara Ljiljak originally was due to represent Croatia at Miss Universe, but broke her arm hours before leaving for the competition, preventing her from participating.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Guam, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Saint Lucia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands withdrew.

Miss Universe Slovenia Ana Haložan suffered an accident when she arrived in Las Vegas, which resulted in hospitalization, preventing her from participating in registration activities, interviews and pictorials.

[27][28][29][30] Egypt, Ethiopia, Guam, Kenya, Lithuania, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

[31] Initially, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama decided to not participate in this edition due to the statements about Mexican immigrants made by Donald Trump.

Minutes after her coronation, Harvey returned to the stage and apologized, stating that Gutiérrez was the 1st runner-up while Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines was the winner.

[38][39] Same with 2014, fifteen semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews.