[1] The winner, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was crowned by Justine Pasek of Panama as Miss Universe 2003.

Due to the ongoing SARS outbreak at the time, Juan Carlos Navarro, the mayor of Panama City, required the candidates to show medical certification that they were virus free.

The 2003 edition saw the debut of Serbia and Montenegro, and the returns of Argentina, Barbados, Belize, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei.

Chile, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, Portugal, the United States Virgin Islands, and Uruguay withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

[11] Miss Iceland 2002, Manuela Ósk Harðardóttir withdrew, when dehydration caused by the weather prevented her from competing in the preliminary competition.

[14] Mounia Achlaf of Algeria[15] and Melanie Putria Dewita Sari of Indonesia withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

[16] This was due to the strict foreign exchange controls imposed by then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to prevent capital flight.

According to Osmel Sousa, president of the Miss Venezuela Organization, USD $80,000 was needed for the franchise fee to send Ruiz to the pageant.

[17] This is after Mireya Moscoso, then-President of Panama, urged Cisneros to ensure that a Venezuelan candidate will compete at Miss Universe.