The final moments of Sunday evening’s Miss Universe pageant will probably go down as some of the most awkward in television history, thanks to an embarrassing mix up by host Steve Harvey. During the live broadcast Harvey incorrectly announced that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez had won the crown and even allowed her to begin celebrating, before correcting his mistake.

Miss Universe 2015, Miss Philippines, Pia AlonzoMiss Universe 2015, Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo.

As Gutiérrez began celebrating with the crown on her head, Harvey was forced to come back on stage and announce that Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo, who had earlier been named the runner-up, was the actual winner. The crown was then removed from Gutierrez and placed on Alonzo’s head.

Writing on twitter, Harvey apologised for the mix-up saying: ‘I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible. Secondly, I'd like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an honest mistake.’

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‘I don't want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants. They were all amazing,’ Harvey added. Twitter users were quick to react to Harvey’s mistake, with even Justin Bieber getting in on the action.

The singer shared an image of Harvey’s head superimposed over his own on Instagram, with lyrics from his hit song ‘Sorry’. ‘It's so sad but this is too funny had to post no disrespect,’ Bieber wrote. Thanks to Harvey’s mistake #MissUniverse2015 was the subject of over 4.5million tweets on Sunday, becoming a trending topic.

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In a statement, the Miss Universe organisation said: “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."