Pia Wurtzbach wins Miss Universe

Pia Wurtzbach was crowned Miss Universe 2015 on Sunday (Monday PHL time).

She becomes only the third Filipina to win the crown after Gloria Diaz and Margarita Moran.

Meet Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, our next #MissUniverse! pic.twitter.com/KQDGZjegSR

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015

The 26-year-old Filipina-German actress and model was crowned amid much confusion after host Steve Harvey initially announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo of Sincelejo, Colombia as the winner of the 64th edition of the pageant.

Harvey apologized and said he read the wrong results.

Pia was shocked, and so was Ariadna.

Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega stood awkwardly between Pia and Ariadna and only after a few minutes was she able to get the crown off Ariadna's head and put it on Pia's head.

The Crowning Moment of the 64th #MissUniverse. pic.twitter.com/tkUUR5qfdR

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015

Miss USA Olivia Jordan, 27, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, finished 2nd runner-up.

Later, on Twitter, Harvey apologized and wrote: "I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake... I feel terrible."

Wurtzbach appeared to take the blunder in her stride.

"It's a very non-traditional crowning moment," she said backstage afterward in a video clip of a conversation with Miss USA posted by the Miss Universe pageant on its Twitter feed. "It is very 2015."

Q&A, final walk

Pia was elegant in her final walk before the winners were named, as shown in this video of Miss Universe on their official Twitter account

Is the next #MissUniverse from the Philippines? It's the final walk of the Final Look. pic.twitter.com/zIn3di5c5D

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015

In the question and answer portion, when asked why she should be named Miss Universe (a question also asked of Miss USA and Miss Colombia), Pia said she will use her voice to influence the youth and raise awareness to causes that are relevant such as HIV awareness.

"I will use my voice to influence the youth and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness, that is timely and relevant to my country," Pia said.

"To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and a responsibility," Pia added.

"I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart," Pia said, to the cheers of the live audience.

In an earlier question and answer portion, Pia was asked what she thought US military presence in the Philippines.

Pia said she sees no problem in that, since Philippines and the US have enjoyed good relations, and the Philippines was once a colony of the US.

The Philippines' bet showed grace and poise in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. A post in the official Twitter account of Miss Universe said Pia was "a bombshell in blue" in her lovely gown.

Pia topped the online poll among viewers.

The Filipino-German beauty was born and raised in Stuttgart and raised in Cagayan de Oro.

Notable moments

Among the more notable moments, Flora Coquerel of France, who was at the Paris stadium the night of the November attacks by militant Islamistss, reached the final five and Ariana Miyamoto of Japan, whose father is African-American, reached the top 10 contestants.

Miyamoto's height of 1.73 m (5.7 ft) and bronze skin are unusual in Japan and her selection to represent Japan in the Miss Universe pageant created an online firestorm in her native country.

For the first time, viewers had a chance to vote on the winner, rating contestants in the swimwear, evening gown and interview competitions.

Until recently, the pageant was co-owned by Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal and Trump, who is leading national polls in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination race.

Earlier, Trump's remarks about Mexicans in announcing his presidential candidacy in June drew sharp criticism, and the Spanish-language network Univision pulled out of a deal to televise the pageant.

Trump, who has sued Univision for $500 million, bought out NBC's stake in the Miss Universe Organization, which produces both Sunday's pageant and the Miss USA contest. He sold the company in September.

The panel of judges included former National Football League great Emmitt Smith, celebrity blog mogul Perez Hilton and 2012 Miss Universe winner Olivia Culpo. Hilton, a Miss USA judge, said the two most important things about the pageant were the vastly larger audience and that Trump was no longer owner. —with a report from Reuters/JST/KG, GMA News