1 Out of 7 Billion
The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
Miss Universe 2010
August 22, 2010
The event happens on Monday night (USA) / Tuesday morning (Singapore). Singapore telecast will be on Tue, 24 August, 9 AM over at Mediacorp Channel 5.
Every year, I am hoping that Miss Philippines lands a spot in the semifinals but there are always a lot of surprises in this type of competition. In the end, it really depends on the judges during the presentation show. (FYI, there is a different panel of judges during the finals night).
Anyway, here are a few photos from the swimsuit preliminary competition held last week which I picked up from the Miss Universe website.
Representatives of countries where I used to live and where I am living in right now.
Miss Philippines - Venus Raj
Miss Singapore - Tania Lim
Candidates of countries which won the Miss Universe title during the past 10 years. Venezuela and Puerto Rico won 2 years each.
Miss Dominican Republic - Eva Arias
Miss Australia - Jesinta Campbell
Miss Canada - Elena Semikina
Miss India - Ushoshi Sengupta
Miss Japan - Maiko Itai
Miss Panama - Anyoli Abrego
Miss Puerto Rico Mariana Paola Vicente
Miss Venezuela - Marelisa Gibson
Since a different set of “cheeks” were shown in the above photo :p , I thought I’d post her close-up shot. I think she will be a shoo-in for the semifinals.
Close Up Shot of Miss Venezuela - Marelisa Gibson
The pageant will be held in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. If only I had the time, I would travel to Vegas, spend some dollars at the casinos, and catch the event.
Miss USA - Rima Fakih
Good luck to all candidates.
The New Miss Universe 2009
August 24, 2009
Another pageant is over.
Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza (Venezuela)
Sadly, 83 contestants go back home empty handed. Only consolation is that they can now relax their facial and arm muscles after the month-long smiling and waving.
The following made it to the Top 15 but competed only for swimsuit as they didn’t make it to the next round.
15. Iceland (7.730)
14. Croatia (7.811)
13. Sweden (7.830)
12. Belgium (7.870)
11. Albania (7.900)
The following made it to the evening gown competition. Score for such round in parenthesis.
Top 10
10. USA (7.550)
9. Switzerland (7.890)
8. Czech Republic (8.010)
7. South Africa (8.040)
6. France (8.650)
Top 5
4th runner up : Puerto Rico (#7 in swimsuit, #3 in evening gown)
Mayra Matos Perez (Photo courtesy of Miss Universe website)
3rd runner up : Australia (#1 in swimsuit, #4 in evening gown) – my favorite
Rachael Finch (Photo courtesy of Miss Universe website). #1 in swimsuit so thought I'd better have the right photo here.
2nd runner up: Kosovo (#3 in swimsuit, #2 in evening gown)
Gona Dragusha (Photo courtesy of Miss Universe website)
Announcement of the 1st runner up… this is the time when each contestant secretly hopes the other one will be called!
1st runner up: Dominican Republic (#2 in swimsuit, #1 in evening gown)
Ada Aimee De La Cruz - important role as 1st runner up hehe (Photo courtesy of Miss Universe website)
Miss Universe 2009
Venezuela (#4 in swimsuit, #5 in evening gown)
I've never seen the same country winning two consecutive years. See how ecstatic Miss Universe 2008 (also from Venezuela) is...
Also my first time to see the new crown falling all the way down to the stage!! At least, no one slipped during the evening gown competition this year.
Congratulations to Stefania Fernandez!
Useless info:
- Only 0.16 separated the score of Albania (#11) and USA (#10) during the swimsuit competition. Had Albania flirted a little bit more onstage, she could have gone to round 2. :p
- 0.19 difference between Venezuela (#5) and France (#6) during the evening gown competition. Venezuela almost didn’t make it to the Top 5
- All of the Top 10 contestants (except 2, Venezuela and USA) were 5’9″ and above!
This year, they wanted to be techie by using Skype for one of the final questions. Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007 was on it. Not so glam looking though.
Riyo Mori from Japan
Contestants from Venezuela train for one year before they are fielded into a pageant. Stefania seems to have been well trained even in knowing when to pause for her Q&A response to be interpreted. I think it’s a clever move as typically the response gets lost in translation (have seen that happen too many times).
This is her cue for the interpreter to begin translating. Notice the look?
I was hoping Miss Philippines would enter the semifinals. All the best, Bianca Manalo. Maybe you have a showbiz career ahead of you back in Manila.
Miss Singapore's National Costume. This is better than last. Not sure what's in store for 2010 (Photo courtesy of Miss Universe website)
This section is for women who are both “beauty & brains”. Remember to place your right hand on your right hip while answering the following questions asked during the final round. I’ve indicated Miss Venezuela’s answer for your reference.
1) According to the World Health Organisation, there is an urgent need to do HIV testing around the world. Do you believe that HIV testing should be made mandatory?
2) Tonight you were judged on how you looked in bathing suit. In some countries, women are not allowed to wear swimsuit. How does that make you feel?
3) Has being a beautiful woman made your life easier or has it prevented people from talking you seriously in business situations?
4) In many parts of the world, obstacles still exist that inhibit women from achieving their goals in some corporations. What can women do to overcome this?
Venezuela’s answer (translated) : “I believe that nowadays, we women have overcome many obstacles. And I do believe we have reached the same level as men have. We must realise that there are no longer any barriers among us.”
5) Pop superstar Justin Timberlake once said, “The worst thing about being famous is invasion of your privacy.” What is it about fame that makes many people including you, want to be famous?
Miss Universe 2009
April 26, 2009
Just checked the official site and learned that it will be on 23 August, 9PM US Eastern time (24 August, 9AM in Asia). Check local TV listings.
Bahamas will be hosting the pageant. “The worldwide telecast will highlight the warmth, beauty and hospitality of the Islands of the Bahamas as well as the world renowned Atlantis resort. “
Looks nice, doesn’t it?
Stage
Now if only Donald Trump will give me a free roundtrip ticket to the Bahamas and a good seat at the venue… especially since I’ve been watching each year since 1987!!
I’m sure the current Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza (from Venezuela) will enjoy this place during rehearsals and pre-pageant events.
Also tried looking up more info about this year’s event and came across this “Choose the Miss Universe Crown” poll. It’s legitimate so why don’t you make your selection? I already made mine a few nights ago.
http://www.choosethecrown.com/
