Shock and disbelief have erupted online after the wrong Miss Universe winner was crowned.

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez was announced winner of the 2015 beauty pageant before organisers revealed she was actually the first runner-up.

Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was later declared the winner.

#MissUniverse2015 also became Twitter's biggest trend of the night as thousands of social media users began to express disbelief using jokes and memes.

‘MISS INFORMATION’

"Talk about awkward," described one Twitter user who "couldn't help" but find the gaffe "hilarious".

Another user, Mark Critch from Canada, said: "And the winner is - Miss Information." Facebook users also expressed their opinions on a post shared on the pageant's official page.

It was shared close to 40,000 times and received more than 11,000 comments from viewers across the world.

Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach reacts to the announcement establishing her as winner. Photo: AFP

"That was poorly handled. Both of these gorgeous ladies deserve an apology because that was embarrassing for both of them. I literally felt both of their pain," read a top comment by Lemmy Cliff.

"That was the most annoying Miss Universe contest ever," said another commenter Andres Felipe Arbelaez. "The host was horrible and Miss Colombia should have won."

Pageant fans from the Philippines also began to express anger at the incident.

"Our Miss Philippines didn't get her shining moment," said a fan on Facebook. "It feels like she and our country were robbed of the winning moment, shame!"

At the end of the night, Gutierrez was named first runner-up followed by Olivia Jordan from the United States.

Host Steve Harvey responded, saying it was "his mistake" and he would take responsibility for not reading the winning card correctly.

Miss Philippines 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (R), reacts as she is crowned the 2015 Miss Universe by 2014 Miss Universe Paulina Vega (C) during the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant at The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss Colombia 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez (L), was mistakenly named as Miss Universe 2015 instead of First Runner-up. Photo: AFP

"I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible," he said in a tweet that was re-tweeted more than 51,000 times.

"I don't want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants - they were all amazing."

While some Twitter users remained upset over the mistake, others began to tweet out messages of support.

"Don't feel terrible. Everyone makes mistakes," said Pedro Da Cunha.

"To err is human... to forgive is divine," said another user in reply to Harvey's apology.

In an incident apparently unconnected to the competition, at least one person was killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into a crowd next to the Miss Universe venue.