[1] At the end of the event, Riyo Mori of Japan crowned Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela as Miss Universe 2008.

During their stay in Vietnam, Paula Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization, also visited the cities of Nha Trang and Da Lat.

[5] On September 26, 2007, the Vietnamese government approved the proposal of Khánh Hòa to host the pageant in Nha Trang in May 2008.

On November 27, 2007, the Miss Universe Organization officially announced at the Sheraton Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City that the competition will take place at the Diamond Bay Resort in Nha Trang on July 14, 2008.

[13][14] Nino Likuchova, Miss Georgia 2007 was stripped of her title after revealing that she was abducted at the age of 16 and was forced to marry without the consent of her parents.

[17] The 2008 edition saw the debut of Kosovo and the return of the Cayman Islands, Ghana, Guam, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Barbados, Belize, Bulgaria, Guyana, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, the US Virgin Islands, and Zambia withdrew.

[18] Barbados, Bulgaria, Guyana, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, the US Virgin Islands, and Zambia withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.