2012 Miss USA Winner & Preliminary Bikini Competition

Miss USA 2012, the 61st Miss USA pageant was held on June 3, 2012, at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss USA 2011, Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo, Miss Rhode Island USA, the first from Rhode Island, at the end of the event. Culpo will represent the United States at Miss Universe 2012.

The 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the prestigious title. The pageant was televised live on NBC in the U.S.A. The full preliminary round, as well as highlights from the event, is available over Xbox Live via their YouTube and MSN applications.

For the first time, a question was solicited from Twitter for the final question asked of one of the five finalists. That question picked by the pageant organizers - "Would you feel it would be fair that a transgender woman wins the Miss USA title over a natural-born woman?" - was answered by the winner, Culpo