The Miss Universe Kosovo is a national

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

that sends representatives from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

to the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageant.

History

On 4 April 2008

Fadil Berisha Fadil Berisha is an Albanian-American fashion photographer living in New York City. He was once the official photographer for Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. F ...

- photographer of Miss Universe's official photos - hosted Kosova's inaugural pageant where

Zana Krasniqi Zana Krasniqi (born September 17, 1988 in Pristina) is a Kosovar fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Kosovo 2008. She represented Kosovo for the first time in Miss Universe and placed in the Top 10 of the Miss Univ ...

was crowned. She went on represent Kosova at the Miss Universe pageant. This was the first appearance in a Miss Universe pageant for Miss Kosova following the country's

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

on February 17, 2008. In 2013 Fadil Berisha and Agnesa Vuthaj took control of Miss Kosovo and retrieved the Miss Universe franchise. This happened after the previous Miss Universe Kosovo director, Agron Selimi and team made the decision to send their winner to

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

. Thus, winners for

Miss Earth Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one ...

and Miss Universe pageant is being held under single pageant. In 2018 Revista VIP Club took over the franchise of Miss Universe in Kosovo under the direction of TV producer Labinot Gashi. The company also holds the franchise for Miss Universe in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Titleholders

::''The following is a list of winners. From 2008 to present''.

Titleholders under Miss Universe Kosovo org.

Miss Universe Kosovo

::''The first titleholder in Zana Krasniqi who eventually placed as a Top 10 finalist at the 2008

pageant. She is the first ever Kosovar woman to enter and place in the contest, finishing 6th, just two tenths of a point from the top five. The following year turned out to be another success for the Miss Universe Kosovo pageant:

Marigona Dragusha Marigona Dragusha (born 23 September 1990), also known as Gona Dragusha, is a Kosovar model and beauty pageant titleholder who placed as the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Universe 2009 pageant. Dragusha won her national title, Miss Universe Kosovo, ...

, known as "Gona Dragusha", placed second runner-up to

Miss Universe 2009 Miss Universe 2009 was the 58th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Imperial Ballroom in Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas on August 23, 2009. At the end of the event, Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela crowned Stefanía Fernández of ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

making her to be the first delegate from Kosovo to make it top the top five. In terms of placements, Kosovo has been one of the most successful entrants into the Miss Universe pageant. The winner of Miss Kosovo represents her country at

. On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent.''

Miss Earth Kosovo

::''The first delegate for Miss Earth from Kosovo is Mirjeta Zeka in 2002. She is the first delegate from Kosovo to join in a major beauty pageant while Kosovo was still then part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. However, as when the pageant concluded, she went home unplaced. The organization responsible for sending a delegate to Miss Earth was a different organization in 2002 and in 2003. It was in 2007 when Agnesa Vuthaj acquired the franchise and sent Miss Kosovo 2007 winner, Yllka Berisha, to

Miss Earth 2008 Miss Earth 2008 was the eighth edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the Clark Expo Amphitheater in Angeles City, Philippines, on November 9, 2008. Jessica Trisko of Canada crowned Karla Henry of the Philippines as her successor the en ...

. However, she was unable to grab a spot in the semifinals as well. In 2014, Kaltrina Neziri was supposed to compete for Miss Earth but her visa was denied and was not able to compete. The organizer decided that she would compete for the following year, instead. To date, there is yet a Kosovan delegate to place in the Miss Earth pageant. One of the runners-up of Miss Kosovo represents her country at

.''

Past titleholders under Miss Universe Kosovo org.

Miss World Kosovo

::''Began 2018, one of the runners-up of Miss Kosovo represents her country at

.''

Notes

In 2013 the former Miss Universe Kosovo team pulled out of Miss Universe and decided to send their winning girl to Miss World 2013. Instead

held a separate Miss Universe Kosovo edition in which

Mirjeta Shala Mirjeta Shala (born 12 February 1994) is a Kosovo-Albanian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Kosovo 2013 and was to compete in Miss Universe 2013 before Kosovo withdrew from the pageant. In November 2013, she signed a con ...

was crowned. However, in October Kosovo withdrew from the

Miss Universe 2013 Miss Universe 2013 was the 62nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Moscow, Russia, on 9 November 2013. At the end of the event, Olivia Culpo of the United States crowned Gabriela Isl ...

pageant because the security of Kosovo's contestant could not be assured in Russia and also Russia's non-recognition of the Kosovo's independence and passport.

References

External links

misskosova.info
{{Miss Earth countries and territories Beauty pageants in Kosovo Recurring events established in 2008 Kosovan awards