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Miss Universe to Come to Russia in 2013

Olivia Culpo, the current holder of the Miss Universe title. Wikipedia

The Miss Universe competition will be held in Russia for the first time in its history.

Moscow's 7,000 capacity Crocus City Hall will host the pageant on Nov. 9, 2013, the venue said in a press release.

Donald Trump, who owns the competition, made the announcement live on air during the transmission of the Miss USA event in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Women from 90 countries will compete for the title, watched by more than a billion viewers worldwide.

At a press conference following the announcement Donald Trump spoke of his joy at the fact that the competition will be in Russia. "I am convinced that it will be the biggest and best Miss Universe that you have ever seen," he said.

Miss Universe began in 1952 as a local "bathing beauty" competition set up by a swimwear company in Long Beach, California. Trump, who has owned the competition since 1996, now runs it in partnership with U.S. television network NBC.

It should not be confused with the Miss World pageant, which began a year earlier in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain.

The one and only Russian winner of the event was Oksana Fedorova in 2002.

Olivia Culpo, an American, is the current holder of the title.

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