Miss Venezuela

About Miss Venezuela

The Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International pageants (amongst others).

Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has accumulated more international titles than any other country, including five Miss Universe winners, five Miss World winners, and five Miss International winners. Alexandra Braun Waldeck, who won Venezuela's first Miss Earth title in 2005 was first runner-up at the Miss Venezuela pageant, and received training from the organization, although she was not one of their official titleholders.

The pageant is traditionally held in September, preceded by two or three months of preliminary events, including the awarding of corporate prizes. The final competition telecast generally lasts about four hours and is broadcast live across Latin America by Venevision, with edited versions to the United States and Mexico on the Univision network. In 2006, a Venezuelan-American filmmaker Patrick Atanasije Pineda obtained the rights to document every detail of the pageant, including its process and contestants.