Miss USA 2012 Contestants Prepare for Show (Photos)
Miss USA 2012 will air Sunday evening from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The show will see 51 pageant queens from all 50 states, as well as from the District of Columbia, competing for the coveted crown.
This year will be the first time viewers will be able to pose questions directly to the Miss USA contestants during the broadcast. Viewers are being invited to send their questions through Twitter, and a specially selected one will be used as part of the competition. Fans have been able to submit their questions by tweeting #AskMissUSA since last week, but they will continue to be able to do so throughout the show Sunday night.
Organizers have issued a statement saying, "One lucky fan's question will be read to a Top Five finalist during the interview portion. Live tweets will be incorporated during the swimsuit and evening gown portions, giving viewers an opportunity to follow what fans are saying in real time."
Executive Producer Barry Adelman continued the official statement saying, "Plus, we wanted to add an element of suspense by integrating social media into the final question portion. It will all come down to one contestant, one fan and 140 characters."
The feature launched during the 2011 show – online voting – will be kept for this year's show as well.
Alyssa Campanella, the winner of Miss USA 2011, will be in attendance at this year's event, and will be given the honor of handing over the crown to this year's winner, who will go on to represent the United States at Miss Universe later in the year.
On the judging panel this year are: chef Cat Cora, comedian Arsenio Hall, musician Joe Jonas, actress Marilu Henner, TV's Rob Kardashian, Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza, TV host George Kotsiopoulous, and The Bachelorette's Ali Fedotowsky.
The show will air on NBC June 3 at 9 p.m. ET.
