[1] At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was crowned as Miss Universe 2019 by Catriona Gray of the Philippines.

The pageant was hosted by Steve Harvey for the fifth consecutive year, with Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo and Vanessa Lachey as backstage correspondents.

He added that he would assist in preparations for the competition in South Korea, although the details were not finalized; the Miss Universe Organization had never confirmed this.

Meanwhile, Rio de Janeiro will be declared the World Capital of Architecture by UNESCO for 2020, and was looking to host more international events in the city in anticipation of this title.

[13] On 31 October 2019, the Miss Universe Organization confirmed that the competition would be at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on 8 December 2019.

[19] Anyella Grados originally was to represent Peru at Miss Universe, but was dethroned following a scandal where videos of her surfaced showing being severely drunk and vomiting in public.

[20][21][22] This edition marked the debuts of Bangladesh[23] and Equatorial Guinea,[24] and the returns of Lithuania, Romania, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Zambia withdrew.

[29] Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar became the first openly lesbian to compete in Miss Universe after coming out days before finals night.

The twenty semi-finalists competed in the opening statement round, introduced in 2018, featuring each semifinalist giving a short introduction to themselves and their platforms.