The cat is finally out of the basket, with the official confirmation that Miss Venezuela, Stefania Fernandez is the crowning glory for the 2009 Miss Universe pageant.

The dark haired beauty diddled the ‘Miss Universe’ crown from the staunch vying reaches of finalists hailing from Puerto Rica, Kosovo, Australia and the Dominican Republic.

The event held in the Atlantis Hotel located in the Bahamas bore witness to the past year’s Miss Universe, also hailing from Venezuala, Dayana Mendoza handing over the coveted crown to the 18-year-old Stefania Fernandez. This ups the tally to six for the Latin American country.

Miss USA made it to the top 15 listing, with Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee de la Cruz notched second place as runner up.

The pageant showcased a peppy performance from the MTV ‘Hills’ fame, Heidi Montag’s premier live musical showing, a major section of which was wedged out by NBC with the introduction of the final contenders on stage.

Watch out for the Miss Universe 2009 live event happening on the night of August 23 at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Nassau, Bahamas. The 58th Miss Universe coronation ceremony will be hosted by Billy Bush and Claudia Jordan. Eighty four gorgeous contestants from all over the world are vying for the Miss Universe crown. During the coronation night, they will grace the stage with their astonishing beauty and brains.

During the coronation night, there will be a selection of the top 15 candidates. These lucky fifteen ladies will be judged in three ways: swimsuit, evening gown and first round interview. The next will be the selection of the top 10 candidates. Whoever of the remaining ten candidates that will top the judge’s tallied score will advance to final top 5. Special awards like, Miss Photogenic and Miss Congeniality will also be given. Who do you think will win the Miss Universe 2009 title? According to some reports, one of the judge’s miss universe favorites is Miss Philippines Pamela Bianca Manalo.