[1] At the end of the event, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic crowned Jennifer Hawkins of Australia as Miss Universe 2004.

[7] The attempted use of the pageant to promote Ecuador threatened to be derailed just prior to the telecast, when a corruption scandal led to growing demands for the removal of President Lucio Gutierrez in the politically unstable country.

[9] The event was protested by native Indian activists and environmentalists who accused the government of concealing the nations poverty whilst the pageant was being hosted.

Although it was protesting the economic policies of the Ecuadorian government, police suspected that the bomb, found just six blocks from the parade route, was timed specifically to coincide with the event.

[14] The 2004 edition saw the debuts of Ethiopia, Georgia, and Vietnam, and the returns of Austria, Botswana, Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos, and Uruguay.

Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir of Iceland was also set to compete at Miss Universe, but withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

Note: Kwame Jackson, runner-up on the first season of The Apprentice, was initially chosen as a judge, but he was disqualified because he inadvertently visited the hotel where the delegates were staying and interacted with some of the contestants.