Panama City, June 03: Fifteen finalists end more than two weeks of hectic preparations tonight as they go before the judges and an estimated 600 million television viewers for the 2003 Miss Universe title. The winner will replace Justine Pasek of Panama, the first runner up last year who took the crown after the Russian winner surrendered the title voluntarily. It's also showtime for Panama, which will have a few minutes of prime time to promote itself as a new tourist destination after decades of living under the shadow of the us military that long protected the Panama Canal. On December 31, 1999, the United States took its last soldiers home and handed Panama the canal administration.


All 71 contestants will parade tonight, though the 15 finalists were chosen -- but not announced -- during a preliminary show on Thursday.


"It has been very hectic," Miss Chinese Taipei Szu Yu Chen told the associated press yesterday. "We are all very tired, but excited and happy that it is over. After tomorrow, I am free again," she said with a laugh.


The women arrived on May 15 and have visited schools and hospitals amid rehearsals for the finals. Szu Yu Chen was not happy with the "Chinese Taipei" written on her sash -- a bow to organizers' sensitivity to the mainland Chinese government's claim to Taiwan.

Bureau Report