Steve Harvey has been tapped to return as the host of the Miss Universe pageant for his fourth year, with Deadline confirming the Emmy winner’s return.
This year’s competition will take place in Bangkok, Thailand and will air in the United States on Sunday, December 16 at 7 p.m. ET on Fox. Bangkok has previously hosted the pageant in 1992 and 2005.
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Viewers will likely recall Harvey’s 2015 hosting stint when he made a blunder heard around the world and mistakenly named Miss Colombia as the winner when Miss Philippines had actually been crowned by the judges.
After realizing his mistake, Harvey showed the card with the winners’ names on it to the crowd after stopping Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, during her victory walk.
“Folks let me take control of this,” he said before confirming that Miss Phillippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, was actually the winner.
“Nobody feels worse about this than me,” Harvey told reporters after the fact.
“The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on the Miss Universe stage with over 10 million live fan votes tabulated,” the Miss Universe Organization said in a statement at the time. “Unfortunately, a live telecast means that human error can come into play. We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially announced. Our sincerest apologies to Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, their families and fans. We congratulate Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach as Miss Universe 2015.”
Harvey returned as host in 2016, saying he wanted to personally apologize to the Filipinos for the gaffe.
In 2017, Miss South Africa, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, was crowned the winner and will attend this year’s pageant to crown her successor.
“The Miss Universe competition provides women from all walks of life and all corners of the globe the opportunity to represent their countries and share their ambitions, perspectives and personal experiences on an international stage,” Nel-Peters said in a statement, via Fox News.
“Becoming Miss Universe changed the course of my life,” she added. “And I look forward to seeing which amazing woman will benefit next!”
Photo Credit: Getty / Frazer Harrison
