The makeup of the Top 5 was fairly conventional, with all the top 5 coming from countries that had won the crown previously. And the two top finishers came from the South American neighbors that arguably have the most vibrant beauty pageant
cultures on Earth.The site of the pageant was one that would have seemed improbable only a decade
earlier. The largest of the American-based pageant systems held its finals in Vietnam,
the country still widely known for having successfully resisted American control in the 1960s and '70s. Vietnam, like some other major Asian nations, has gone in two decades from hostility toward pageants to a fervent embrace. Americans are likely to remember the pageant because for the second year in a row,
Miss USA stumbled and fell onstage. Just as in 2007, the American representative recovered herself with admirable grace. One echo of international tensions that remain today was the presence of Zana Krasniqi, Miss Kosovo. It declared its independence from Serbia in early 2008 under the sponsorship of the United States and much of western Europe, and over the strong objections of a number of other countries. Vietnam does not recognize Kosovo, and Ms. Krasniqi initially had visa problems as she sought to attend the pageant. She eventually competed and made the top 10, but was referred to by Vietnamese officials as Miss Kosovo-Serbia. The biggest break with pageant tradition was probably the farewell walk by Miss Universe 2007, Riyo Mori of Japan. Instead of wearing an evening gown, she was clad in what some observers called a "cleavage tuxedo." The Rising Sun never rose more dramatically. | 
