At the end of the event, Linda Bement of the United States crowned Marlene Schmidt of West Germany as Miss Universe 1961.

This edition saw the debuts of Ireland, Jamaica, Madagascar, the Republic of China, Rhodesia, Scotland, the United States Virgin Islands, and Wales, and the returns of Ceylon, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Turkey.

Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Jordan, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, and Tunisia withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Helen Tan of Malaya and Julie Koh of Singapore were supposed to compete in the pageant.

[7] Each of the fifteen semi-finalists gave a short speech during the final telecast using their native languages.