Organisers of the Miss Universe beauty pageant were left red-faced when the wrong winner was crowned by mistake.
Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo had already been declared the winner of the world's biggest beauty contest and handed her crown and winner's sash after the final on Sunday night.
She was standing on stage clutching a bouquet of flowers, and lapping up cheers from the Las Vegas crowd when mortified host Steve Harvey returned to apologise and announce his mistake.
“OK, folks, um, I have to apologise,” he said.
“The first runner-up is Colombia. Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines.”
Steve Harvey accidentally crowns #MissColombia!#MissPhilippines Wins!! #Watch how #MissUniverse all went down. #SteveHarvey owned up to his mistake. Like Rick Party & Life of the Partys#MyWifeWasKidding
Posted by Rick Party on Sunday, December 20, 2015
A former Miss Universe winner then quickly removed the crown from Arevalo's head and placed it on a stunned Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
Mr Harvey, who is a well-known comedian and TV host in the States, continued: “I will take responsibility for this, it was my mistake,” he told the crowd. “It’s on the card ... horrible mistake, but I can show it to you right here.holding up the card.
“It is my mistake, but it’s still a great night. Please don’t hold it against the ladies, please don’t. I feel so badly but it’s still a great night.”
The televised broadcast was then cut abruptly, without Miss Wurtzbach performing the traditional final walk.
Mr Harvey later posted another apology on Twitter, that has since been retweeted more than 70,000 times.
It read: "I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible."
It was his second attempt at an apology, as in his first tweet that he later deleted, he spelled Colombia as "Columbia" and Philippines as "Philippians".
The organisers of the contest also posted an apology to both candidates in a statement on Facebook, which read: “The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on The Miss Universe stage with over 10 million live fan votes tabulated.
"Unfortunately, a live telecast means that human error can come into play. We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially announced.
“Our sincerest apologies to Miss Universe Colombia, Miss Universe Philippines, their families, and fans. We congratulate Miss Universe Philippines as Miss Universe 2015.”
Twitter and Facebook users were quick to react to the gaffe with many calling it "awkward" or "hilarious".
Mark Critch tweeted: "And the winner is - Miss Information."
While Scarlett Moffatt said: "Can Steve Harvey please host the Oscars so Leonadro DiCaprio can win an Oscar for a least a minute of his life."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Can Steve Harvey please host the Oscars so Leonardo DiCaprio can win an Oscar for at least a minute of his life <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissUniverse2015?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3141601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissUniverse2015?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#MissUniverse2015</a> — Scarlett Moffatt (@ScarlettMoffatt) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ScarlettMoffatt/status/678852091348180992" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3141601-https://twitter.com/ScarlettMoffatt/status/678852091348180992" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 21, 2015</a>
Others shared messages of support for Mr Harvey, applauding him for admitting to his mistak and taking responsibility for it.
One twitter user posted: "Mistakes are made by everyone but it takes courage to admit them."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissUniverse2015?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3141601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissUniverse2015?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#MissUniverse2015</a> mistakes are made by everyone but it takes courage to admit them <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/afz6hmeMxH" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3141601-https://t.co/afz6hmeMxH" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/afz6hmeMxH</a> — m (@faetail) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/faetail/status/678811334989840384" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3141601-https://twitter.com/faetail/status/678811334989840384" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 21, 2015</a>
Ms Wurtzbach, who has walked away with $20,000 as well as a host of other prizes, has since told reporters that she wishes Ms Gutierrez well following the incident.
Olivia Jordan from the USA was named the second runner-up in the competition.
In an incident apparently unrelated to the contest, at least one person was killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into a crowded pavement near to the hotel on the Las Vegas Strip where the Miss Universe final was being held.