Location and date

On March 28, 2019, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) confirmed that the pageant would be held on May 2 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.^[1][8] Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Miss USA 2018 hosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey would be returning to host the 2019 competition.^[6]

Following the announcement of Reno being selected as the competition's host city, it emerged that the MUO were originally planning on holding the competition in Honolulu, Hawaii. The plan was rejected by Hawaiian officials and relocated to Reno by the MUO after the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) reported that they would be unable to secure the funds to host the competition that the MUO had requested, adding that they would be interested in hosting in the future.^[9]

Selection of participants

Delegates from 50 states and the District of Columbia were selected in state pageants that began in August 2018 and ended in January 2019. The first state pageant was Alaska, held on August 4, 2018, and the final pageants were California, Kentucky and New Mexico, both held on January 27, 2019. Seven of them were former Miss Teen USA state winners, three of them were former Miss America state winners and two of them were former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state winners.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Placements

Special awards

Format

Same as the previous year, during the final competition, the results of the preliminary competition — which consisted of the swimsuit competition, the evening gown competition, and the closed-door interview determined the fifteen semi-finalists who advanced at the first cut. The fifteen semi-finalists competed in the swimsuit competition, while 10 competed in the evening gown competition. Five finalists were chosen to competed in a question round regarding current affairs, while three finalists competed in the final question round and final walk.^[10]

Judges

• Nicole Feld – businesswoman, producer, and vice president for Feld Entertainment, Inc.^[12]
• Kim Kaupe – businesswoman and co-founder of The Superfan Company^[13]
• Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters – Miss Universe 2017 from South Africa^[14]
• Ukonwa Ojo – marketing executive for CoverGirl, Rimmel, and Vera Wang^[15]
• Amy Palmer – journalist and media entrepreneur^[16]
• Denise Quiñones – Miss Universe 2001 from Puerto Rico^[17]
• Hillary Schieve – politician and Mayor of Reno, Nevada^[18]
• Patricia Smith – philanthropist and Miss Virginia USA 1994^[19]