Noa Kirel. Photo: Daniel Elster / Wikimedia Commons

The 70th Miss Universe competition will air live from Eilat, Israel, on Dec. 12 and will include a performance by Israeli pop singer Noa Kirel, the Miss Universe Organization, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and the city of Eilat announced on Tuesday.

“I’m so excited and honored to be performing at Miss Universe,” said the 20-year-old “Bad Little Thing” singer. “By believing in themselves and fearlessly chasing their dreams, these women from around the world live and breathe the values of the Miss Universe Organization, and I can’t wait to share this celebratory moment with all of them on this incredible global stage.”

United Arab Emirates will participate in the Miss Universe competition for the first time ever, while Morocco is set to return for the first time in over 40 years.

The pageant will take place in a customized “Universe Arena,” which was imported from Portugal and holds approximately 5,000 seats for audience members, according to the announcement. Executives of the Miss Universe Organization traveled to Israel throughout October to tour the country, meet with Eilat’s Mayor Eli Lankri, and closely supervise the completion of the Miss Universe complex. Miss Universe contestants will also explore Israel ahead of the competition by first touring Jerusalem and ending their trip in Eilat.

“Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed in our path, we knew how to maintain the balance between health and the economy, to bring tourism back to Israel,” said Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov. “We needed to create tourism anchors that will promote and present Israel to the world as a vaccination nation that invites tourists to visit. The Miss Universe pageant is without doubt an important and significant anchor of this plan.”

Rina Messinger is the only Israeli to win the Miss Universe competition when she took home the crown in 1976.

Tickets for the live telecast, the preliminary competition and the national costume competition go on sale Nov. 15.