By Allan Brown
It's not every day that 80 of the most beautiful women in the Universe gather in one place.
Instead, it generally only happens for two weeks once a year.
Annually, the most glamorous beauties in the world convene at the site of the traditional pageant that supposedly crowns the most beautiful woman of them all and she is bestowed the title of Miss Universe.
This year, Las Vegas hosts the 64th annual Miss Universe Pageant. And what happens in Vegas will definitely not stay in Vegas, as the pageant will be televised to an estimated 1 billion people in some 190 countries and the winner will embark on a year-long reign fit for, well, a queen.
In the U.S., the Pageant will be televised on December 20 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Fox, which broadcasts the event for the first time. The past 12 contests had been televised on NBC and for the 43 years before that, CBS was the television home for the contest.
The WME/IMG talent agency bought the pageant from Donald Trump earlier this year amid threats of withdrawal from many Latin countries following comments by the Republican frontrunner for the presidential nomination that America should ban illegal Mexican immigrants from coming into the country.
NBC bowed out of televising the event and Fox eventually picked it up after WME/IMG acquired the pageant.
Putting aside all the controversy that has led up to the event, the delegates have made various appearances throughout Vegas in the two weeks leading up to the pageant.
And, prior to the live finals, each candidate will have faced a preliminary panel of celebrity judges, who will have analyzed them in swimsuit, evening gown and preliminary one-on-one interviews.
Only the elite will make it to the final round Sunday.
Choosing 15 quarterfinalists is a difficult - some would say impossible - task, but the panel will do it.
To give you armchair judges at home a little leg up on the rest of the audience, here are some of the contestants to look out for entering the final night of competition.
After 40+ years of watching and following the pageant, I feel that while I may not actually be an expert, I am certainly somewhat knowledgeable on what makes a strong Miss Universe candidate.
Of course, this is certainly not an exhaustive - nor probably even accurate list - but, rather, a compilation of those who, in my opinion, have been standing out thus far in the competition.
Any list of prohibitive favorites would have to include both Miss USA and Venezuela. They have won the pageant a combined 15 times, with the U.S. holding a 8-7 edge in victories.
This year's contenders from the two countries are on this list not just because of the sash factor, but, rather, because they are legitimate contenders to succeed Paulina Vega of Colombia and ascend to the Miss Universe throne.
Oklahoma's Olivia Jordan, the reigning Miss USA, won her national title in large part due to her answer to the two final questions. A brilliant speaker and seasoned pageant competitor, if she makes it to the final five at Miss Universe, it's likely to be a slam dunk for her to capture the international title.
However, one can never rule out a contestant from Venezuela and this year's queen, Mariana Jimenez, is no exception. Stunningly gorgeous with a classic sense of style, she is reminiscent of the country's 2007 titleholder, Ly Jonaitas, who probably should have won Miss Universe eight years ago.
If either of the two frontrunners should falter, there are plenty of other prohibitive favorites waiting in the wings to capture the crown.
Latin beauties do amazingly well in the pageant, for the sole reason being that winning a title in those countries puts the victor on the fast track to instant celebrity. From the moment they are crowned, they have access to the best coaches and designers in their country. Seldom is a Latin-American beauty unprepared when she arrives at the Big Dance.
Six of the last 10 winners have been from Latin America and one of them could easily take home a seventh title in as many years next week.
If Miss Venezuela fails to win it, Miss Colombia could easily make it a back-to-back victory for her country. This year's representative was actually crowned late last year before Vega won her Universe crown and many thought that Ariadna Gutierrez was even more stunning than Paulina. A country winning two years in a row is rare, but, certainly not unheard of. Still only once in the past 6-and-a-half decades has it actually happened. The country who did it? You guessed it, Venezuela with consecutive victories in 2008 and 2009.
As for other strong Latin contestants, the Misses Peru, Dominican Republic and Brazil seem to lead the pack, with the latter having the slight disadvantage of having won her national title just days before arriving in Vegas. Brazil, though, has been strong of late, making the top 5 three of the last four years.
Like I previously said, pageants are not just for fun in Latin America, they are a well-run business and a winner of a pageant in that region is automatically a strong contender for any international crown.
Another Latina is a strong contender, though this one is from Europe, Miss Spain, has certainly turned heads since her national crowning and looks fierce in Vegas. Perhaps Carla Garcia will succeed where the last two winners from her country - both favorites entering their respective pageants - have failed, with the country finishing as 1st runner up in 2013 and a disappointing and surprising top 10 last year.
If Europe is to win its first Miss Universe title in 13 years, they couldn't ask for a stronger group of contestants to represent the continent. In addition to Miss Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, France and Denmark have sent extremely strong contenders with many thinking France's Flora Quequerol as the best of the bunch.
Still, there's something about Denmark's Cecilie Wellemberg that screams winner to me, even though the nation has never had a Miss Universe and has only placed twice in the past 49 years. Something tells me that's about to change this year.
Other strong contestants from Europe include the Misses Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Ukraine and Russia.
Asia is also particularly strong this year and the perennial stronghold nation of the Philippines is not even the best of the lot from that continent. While I think Pia Wurtzbach will at least make the 15 from that island nation, both Miss Vietnam and Miss Thailand may be stronger contestants, with Vietnam actually one of the odds-on favorites to win the crown
And Miss Thailand has already generated lots of headlines on her own with her controversial 'tuk-tuk' national costume, which was made to represent a replica of a motorized rickshaw. Even without Trump at the helm, those MUO pageants love to stir up controversy each year, don't they?
If any of the above-mentioned delegates falter during Wednesday's preliminary competition, there are several delegates who are anxiously awaiting to pick up the pieces - or the winner's scepter - when December 20 gets here.
Those delegates who are bubbling just below some of the more heavily favored contenders include Australia, Poland, India and one who I actually think has an extremely good chance of advancing far into the competition despite her sash, and she would be Miss Curacao.
Just for the record, any of the young women I've spotlighted in this column would make an excellent and gorgeous Miss Universe and I think all - for different and varied reasons - are legitimate contenders. However, if I had to select a
pre-pageant top five, I could give you four: USA, Denmark, France and Vietnam. The other spot to me is wide open. Maybe Curacao.
I wouldn't, however, be all that surprised if that fifth spot was occupied by Miss Venezuela.
After all, I'd never wager too much against a country that's already captured seven crowns and that hopes to tie the USA with an eighth one next week.
For photos of all this year's Miss Universe delegates, go to www.MissUniverse.com and click on the contestants link.
No comments:
Post a Comment