At the end of the event, Christiane Martel of France crowned Miriam Stevenson of the United States as Miss Universe 1954.

This edition also featured the Star of the Universe crown, which consisted of one-thousand Oriental cultured and black pearls set in solid gold and platinum, and was worth $500,000 USD.

[8] The 1954 edition saw the debuts of Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the West Indies, and the returns of Chile, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Israel who last competed in 1952.

[9] Austria, Denmark, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or designate a contestant.

Contestants from Guatemala and Nicaragua were also expected to compete, but was prohibited by their respective governments due to the political instability of Central America.