CNN
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Is it a bird? Is it a winged goddess? Is it an ode to the history of traditional Dutch ceramics?

Miss Universe 2024 was all of these things – and more – when the annual pageant kicked off on Thursday evening with its flamboyant national costume competition.

Tasked with modeling looks that represent their home countries, 126 competitors took the stage at Arena CDMX in Mexico City ahead of Saturday’s grand final. And while many looked to folk arts, deities or the flags of their nations for inspiration, others took more bizarre approaches.

Miss Nicaragua, Geyssell García, came dressed as her country’s famous León Cathedral. Kenyan beauty queen Irene Mukii’s costume, meanwhile, featured the faces of several notable athletes, a nod to her country’s prowess in long-distance running. And Miss Chile, Emilia Dides, stepped out wearing a huge roulette wheel in tribute to the popular Chilean TV variety show ‘Sábado Gigante’.

Elsewhere, participants turned to national flora and fauna, from Miss Bangladesh Aniqa Alam’s tiger costume to the red-eyed elephant poking out of Miss Ivory Coast Marie-Emmanuelle Diamala’s outfit. Miss Myanmar, Thet San Andersen, burst out of a gold owl costume to reveal a pair of sparkling wings, while Britain’s Christina Chalk took to the stage in a leaf-covered outfit inspired by the UK’s 121 million oak trees.

As part of the preliminary round of the glitzy pageant, the costume portion was immediately followed by a swimwear competition. The winners of both will be announced on Saturday before the finalists are whittled down to a shortlist of 30, who will then compete to inherit the Miss Universe crown from reigning defending champion Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua.

Scroll down to see some of the most notable national costumes.