At age 19, Aadya Srivastava made her pageantry debut at the highly anticipated international competition in Bangkok on Nov. 21 RUNGROJ YONGRIT/EPA/Shutterstock On Nov ...

The energy in the room couldn't have been more tense. Some women were yelling, telling their new friends to stand up and leave. Others were glued to their seats, crying in red-carpet-worthy gowns.

Businessman and former politician Chavit Singson plans to begin talks this month to acquire the Miss Universe pageant, a move he believes could give a boost to the Philippines’ tourism numbers.

On Nov. 21, Miss Universe crowned its newest winner: Fátima Bosch, who represented Mexico at the competition The international pageant was the subject of global headlines in the weeks before, first ...