Location and date In December 2001,
Jorge Santini, then-
mayor of San Juan and Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quiñones attended at a news conference in San Juan where it was announced that the 2002 pageant will be held in Puerto Rico for the second consecutive year. The city of San Juan was chosen as the venue of the pageant from eight other cities.
Selection of participants Seventy-five countries and territories competed in the pageant. One candidate was appointed to her position to replace the original winner.
Replacements Lorena Ayala, the winner of Miss España 2001 pageant, cut all ties with the Miss España organization and lost the right to represent Spain at any international pageant after a threat of a lawsuit against the
Miss España Organization by her family, due to a contractual breach with the organization. Ayala was replaced by Vania Millán at the request of the Miss Universe Organization.
Debuts and withdrawals The 2002 edition saw the debuts of Albania and China, and the returns of Kenya who last competed in
Miss Universe 1995, Guyana who last competed in
Miss Universe 1999, and Australia, Mauritius, and Namibia who last competed in
Miss Universe 2000. Karen Russell of Belize and Yana Booth of Great Britain withdrew due to a change of the local franchise holder.
Christina Sawaya, Miss Lebanon 2001, withdrew due to her support of the
Second Intifada, stating that she wouldn't compete with
Miss Israel 2002, Yamit Har-Noy at the pageant. Euwonka Selver of the Turks and Caicos Islands had her title removed a few weeks before leaving for the pageant, and the organization didn't replace her. Shirley Yeung of Hong Kong, Loredana Zammit of Malta, and Gabriela Riquelme of Paraguay withdrew after their respective organizations lost their licenses. Hong Kong began sending their candidates to Miss China in 2003. Argentina, Barbados, Botswana, New Zealand, and Taiwan withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Replacement of Oxana Fedorova In September 2002, four months after winning Miss Universe, Fedorova was replaced by Justine Pasek, making her the first Miss Universe to be removed during their reign. According to then-president of the Miss Universe Organization Paula Shugart, Fedorova was not able to fulfill her duties as she needed to spend a lot of time in Russia. Fedorova was expected to travel extensively and make personal appearances as part of her duties, but she declined to participate in some of those assignments, including the 2002 Miss Teen USA pageant. Fedorova also refuted speculations that she is pregnant because she is not yet married. First runner-up Justine Pasek was crowned as Miss Universe 2002 at a press conference in
New York City by Donald Trump. ==Results==