MISS WORLD 2021: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (CONCLUSION)

GROUP 15:

IRAQ – Maria Farhad. It’s nice to see this country make its debut in this pageant, and in a way they made a splash by placing third in the Designer Dress Award with a gown laden with intricate embroidery. She’s attractive but obviously not that polished, but still a welcome debut for this country.

SOMALIA – Khadija Omar. She made a splash by being the first contestant in any major league pageant to opt for a hijab (head covering for Muslim women). She undeniably has a gorgeous face and good communication skills, but despite the newsworthiness of her presence she is overshadowed by the abundance of stunners from her continent.

NICARAGUA – Sheynnis Palacios. This TLBQ has been making a major splash, winning the Head to Head challenge in this group and being shortlisted in Top Model. She is renowned for her strong communication skills, albeit in her native Spanish as she is not that fluent in English. She secured a Top 30 placement by beating the Group 16 champion HAITI. Now the question is if she could make a play for the Top 12.

ARMENIA – Mima Bzdigian. This wavy-tressed ingenue is an impassioned speaker with a strong human interest story–she was born in Aleppo, Syria but had to leave at age 10 to Armenia because of civil war, but then nine years later Armenia became embroiled in a war with Azerbaijan as the latter wanted to take back the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh. For something less serious, she made the shortlist in Sports.

P.R. CHINA – Jiang Siqi. This slender lady is a model and entrepreneur. She’s solid but she’s unlikely to reach the heights achieved by Miss World winners Zhang Zilin (2007) and Yu Wenxia (2012).

GUINEA-BISSAU – Itchacenia Da Costa. She makes a standout impression with her Afro, but she also proves to be a good communicator. She shared she actually grew up in Europe (not clear where but I speculate among UK, Portugal or Netherlands). She was very prominent in the Sports challenge, as she’s in a tie in 3rd place with IRELAND. She could be a Top 30 possibility as MWO insiders may respond warmly to her looks and communication skills.

GROUP 16:

GHANA – Monique Mawulawe. She has a vibrant attitude about her that is very likeable. In another year she could’ve been a standout but there are simply too many sterling Africans this year.

UGANDA – Elizabeth Bagaya. This ebony-complexioned lady got compliments from pageant fans for her good looks, but she also proved to be a good communicator too. But again, Africa just has too many gems this year that she couldn’t quite stand out.

CAMBODIA – Phum Sophorn. She’s cute but obviously not as strong a communicator as many contender out there.

ST. MAARTEN – Lara Mateo. She’s actually born in Spain before moving to the French side of this Caribbean island, which explains her limited English fluency and preference to speak in French. I find her relatively plain and less polished than the other contenders out there, but she got a highlight being shortlisted in Sports.

SENEGAL – Penda Sy. Normally this country fields well-styled and well-dressed contenders but this year they fielded a lady who may have a distinct look with her brown braided bangs, but she is obviously raw and a tad frumpy.

HAITI – Erlande Berger. She won the Head to Head in this group by being the most serious and reflective of this group. However, pitted against Group 15 champion NICARAGUA, she’s unable to secure a Top 30 slot.

There is one late arrival who missed out of the Head-to-Head challenge, and she is:

TANZANIA – Julianna Rugumisa. She makes a distinct presence with her short Zozibini Tunzi (Miss Universe 2019)-style hairdo. I have a feeling she missed the Top Model shortlist by a little as she made a striking presence here. I can only gauge her communication skills from her introduction video, and it seems she’s a good communicator, but we are spoiled with a bevy of brilliant ones this year.

Now that all 97 contestants are accounted for, let me trot out my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS: COTE D’IVOIRE, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, VENEZUELA

SHOO-INS: BAHAMAS, BOTSWANA, CAMEROON, CZECH REPUBLIC, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, INDONESIA, IRELAND, KENYA, MEXICO, MONGOLIA, NEPAL, NICARAGUA, PARAGUAY, POLAND, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH AFRICA, UNITED STATES, VIETNAM

LIKELIEST: ARGENTINA, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, FRANCE, GIBRALTAR, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, JAMAICA, JAPAN, KOREA, MALAYSIA, NIGERIA, NORTHERN IRELAND, PERU, SCOTLAND, SLOVAKIA, SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO,

EXCELLENT: ALBANIA, ARMENIA, BOLIVIA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA, ESTONIA, GHANA, HAITI, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, ICELAND, LUXEMBOURG, MALTA, MAURITIUS, NAMIBIA, NORWAY, PANAMA, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, ST. LUCIA, TANZANIA, TUNISIA, UGANDA, URUGUAY, WALES

VERY STRONG: CAYMAN ISLANDS, P.R. CHINA, EL SALVADOR, GUADELOUPE, ITALY, MOLDOVA, NETHERLANDS, RWANDA, SINGAPORE, SLOVENIA, TURKEY, UKRAINE,

STRONG: ANGOLA, BELIZE, CAMBODIA, CURACAO, EQUATORIAL GUUINEA, FINLAND, IRAQ, MACAU CHINA, MADAGASCAR, ST. MAARTEN

VERY GOOD: BULGARIA, SENEGAL

It’s not clear if they will adhere to a strict continental format for the Final Five or not, so I’ll make two different “Fearful” Forecasts for my Final Five and Top 12 lists just in case.

CONTINENTAL FINAL FIVE: BAHAMAS, COTE D’IVOIRE, ENGLAND, PHILIPPINES, VENEZUELA

CONTINENTAL TOP 12: CZECH REPUBLIC, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, INDIA, IRELAND, NEPAL, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH AFRICA

OPEN FINAL FIVE: BAHAMAS, COTE D’IVOIRE, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, VENEZUELA

OPEN TOP 12: CZECH REPUBLIC, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, IRELAND, NEPAL, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH AFRICA

TOP 30: ARGENTINA, BOTSWANA, CAMEROON, FRANCE, INDONESIA, JAMAICA, JAPAN, KENYA, MEXICO, MONGOLIA, NICARAGUA, NIGERIA, NORTHERN IRELAND, PARAGUAY, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, UNITED STATES, VIETNAM

BUBBLING UNDER: BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, GIBRALTAR, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, KOREA, MALAYSIA, PERU, SCOTLAND, SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

STRIKING DISTANCE: ALBANIA, ARMENIA, BOLIVIA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA, ESTONIA, GHANA, HAITI, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, ICELAND, LUXEMBOURG, MALTA, MAURITIUS, NAMIBIA, NORWAY, PANAMA, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, ST. LUCIA, TANZANIA, TUNISIA, UGANDA, URUGUAY, WALES

It seems either COTE D’IVOIRE (Olivia Yace) will bring forth a humongously splashy breakthrough for her country, or the two winningest countries in this contest, INDIA (Manasa Varanasi) and VENEZUELA (Alejandra Conde) will try to one-up the other and clinch its 7th win in this pageant, but don’t discount the strong surge delivered by PHILIPPINES (Tracy Maureen Perez) as she can conceivably pull an upset and clinch its country’s coveted 2nd crown. It’s exciting how all this will unfold.

JUST ME!

JOSEPH

UPDATE: It’s unfortunate that COVID-19 struck its ugly head in this pageant, infecting 23 contestants and 15 MWO staff members (reportedly including Mr. World Jack Heslewood, Miss World 2018 Vanessa Ponce, the reignikng Miss World Toni-Ann Singh, and Julia Morley herself). Due to the contamination, initially they tried to reschedule the interviews at least three times before attempting to employ the backup interview footage they recorded like the Head to Head challenges, until five hours prior to the scheduled finals they announced that the finals as it is would be called off and rescheduled 90 days hence–currently confirmed for 16 March/ 2022. It’s such a shame that the contest didn’t seem to have full precautions in place to minimize or mitigate what eventually happened. Now, funding and logistics to finally realize the rescheduled finals remains up in the air–from a celebratory triumph it turned into a messy outcome all of a sudden. Who is responsible for this mess would be up for debae for years to come.

MISS WORLD 2021: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (PART 7)

GROUP 13:

RWANDA – Naomie Nishimwe. She prides herself to be a dancer/choreographer but she wasn’t shortlisted in Talent. In fact she didn’t figure in any challenge shortlist at all. She’s actually a decent communicator with strong command of English, but it seems her advocacies are all over the place, and alongside a bevy of superbly eloquent Africans this year, makes prospects of her making the Top 30 an uphill battle.

IRELAND – Pamela Uba. If you ask me who I thought performed best in this group, I would point to this lady. She has an inspirational story of being an immigrant who had a lot of disadvantages, but with her passion for education she was able to become a medical scientist. In the challenge events, she finished in a tie for 3rd in Sports,and made the Talent shortlist. I see a polarity battle amongst four ladies for the European title. On one side we have ENGLAND and this lady, representing black and other colored girls, and on the other side we have the Central European stunners from CZECH REPUBLIC and POLAND. Which of them will advance to the Top 12?

BELGIUM – Celine Van Ouytsel. This blonde is actually a strong and spontaneous communicator. Whether the MWO insiders found her sentiments sincere is something that is tough to discern–if they like her, she can make Top 30, but if they think she doesn’t really have depth, she will be shut off. It doesn’t help that she didn’t figure in any challenge shortlist.

COLOMBIA -Andrea Aguilera. Here is another gorgeous TLBQ. She was able to harness her pageant following to be the Head to Head champion. However, she doesn’t quite have the depth or gravitas that the likes of, say, IRELAND, possesses. So, it’s no surprise she was knocked out by the formidable COTE D’IVOIRE in the second round. Her chances of making the Top 30 would be dependent if the MWO insiders decided that her type of beauty is too compelling to ignore.

CURACAO – Alvinette Soliana. She makes a distinctive presence with her short hair, and we welcome her candidness sharing that she used to be suicidal that eventually fueled her path to becoming a motivational speaker with an advocacy for mental health.

FINLAND -Emilia Lepomäki^[. This brunette is a solidly sincere communicator who is unlikely to make serious inroads into the Top 30. But at least she has a highlight with a Sports shortlist.

GROUP 14:

COSTA RICA -Tamara Dal Maso. She looks her best with her hair pulled back like in the Head to Head challenge. It’s obvious English is not her first language, but there is a lot of substance in what she says, that even if she didn’t figure in any challenge shortlist, she might be able to be an interview choice into the Top 30.

INDIA – Manasa Varanasi. With her Miss Universe counterpart, Harnaaz Sandhu winning the crown, many pageant fans are salivating at the prospect of this lady pulling off the Dual Alpha Win*1. She has the great looks and eloquence to possibly pull it off. But it seems she’s currently being overshadowed by another member in this group, that what normally would be an easy win in her group, she couldn’t even win. I have a feeling another challenge event, Multimedia, which is typically being tossed between her country and Nepal, might also be overshadowed this year but that same group mate. She at least made the shortlist in Talent and finally secured her Top 30 placement by being Top Six in BWAP. Another thing to consider is that it seems the Asian continental title is looking like a toss-up between her and PHILIPPINES, with the latter looking on-point in terms of spontaneous eloquence.

*1 It only occurred five times prior: 1953 (France), 1972 (Australia), 1981 (Venezuela), 1994 (India), and 2000 (India again).

HUNGARY – Lili Tótpeti. Though her introduction video was spoken solely in her native language Hungarian, she displayed a good command of English in the Head to Head challenge. She is surprisingly a well-spoken, sincere communicator who could’ve been considered a strong performer if she was placed in another group but in this group she’s considered the weakest link. Anyway, she has a highlight with her being shortlisted in Sports.

CANADA – Svetlana Mamaeva. She’s an immigrant from Moldova who’s highly educated, intelligent, and articulate. She made the shortlist in Sports, though there is a possibility that she can impress the MWO insiders enough to clinch a Top 30 finish.

COTE D’IVOIRE – Olivia Yacé. Based on track record and on paper, it would be assumed that INDIA would be the winner of this group. But this lady is far from your typical representative from this country. For starters, she is very fluent in English. She also has social media savvy that she was able to drum up a ton of support and clinch the Head to Head win in this group. It is also speculated that she might also be the Multimedia winner. But she has two sterling qualities that made her only one of two ladies*2 to double-secure their Top 30 spot First, she proved to be an eloquent speaker that she easily trounced Group 13 winner COLOMBIA to secure her Head to Head finals win. Second is that she is a charismatic presence on the runway that she’s the easy winner for Top Model winner. Adding gravy to that is with her sultry singing voice she made the Talent shortlist and is 2nd in the Designer Dress Award. Many people believe she’s the frontrunner for the crown, and I’m also in that camp, though I do have a concern–this lady likes to wear a crown with her wardrobe, like in both her appearances in the Head to Head challenge and Top Model. I’m concerned that the MWO insiders could interpret that gesture as being presumptuous that she’s going to win. I’m hoping that is not the case as many people are rooting for her to win.

*2 The other lady with this distinction? PHILIPPINES.

GUINEA – Nene Bah. She is not conventionally pretty, but she’s a major revelation in the Head to Head challenge as she proved to be a superbly intelligent and eloquent communicator. It helps that she seems to spend significant time in Canada, where she graduated with honors in the University of Ottawa. She may not have figured in any challenge shortlist, but it will not be surprising if she made the Top 30 anyway because of interview.

COMING UP: GROUPS 15 & 16 (plus unclassified) and the “FEARFUL” FORECAST

MISS WORLD 2021: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (PART 6)

GROUP 11:

PUERTO RICO – Aryam Diaz. This host contestant is a quintessential TLBQ, though she seems to have serious inroads into the Top 12 as she proved to be an eloquent speaker. She only figured in one challenge event, but it’s a biggie: 3rd place in Top Model.

SLOVENIA – Maja Colic She’s attractive and a sensible speaker, but she’s not quite standing out in a crowded pack. But at least she has her moment being shortlisted in Sports and Talent.

PHILIPPINES – Tracy Maureen Perez. Though PUERTO RICO put up a good fight, it was undeniable that this lady will win the Head to Head challenge for this group. She proved to be eloquent, spontaneous, and sincere as she relayed her tale of being a “miracle baby”, born to a mother who was not expected to survive and bear children from a horrible accident. She secured a spot in te Top 30 as she beat Group 12 champion MEXICO in the second round of this challenge. Plus she’s the rare lady to double-secure her placement as her BWAP.project for single mothers was among the Top Six finalists. Just like her Miss Universe counterpart Beatrice Luigi Gomez, she can possibly exceed expectations and not only catapult into the Top 12, but perhaps even make the Final Five.

MACAU CHINA – Jia Ni Yuan. She’s a cute, slender lady who didn’t make a standout impression.

FRANCE – April Benayoum. This pageant has been favoring this country for the past few years, coming close to victory in 2013 (Marine Lorphelin) and 2019 (Ophely Mezino). The dream of finding a successor for 1953 winner Denise Perrier is likely to still remain elusive as even if this lady is great looking, her communication skills could not hold up to the likes of PHILIPPINES and PUERTO RICO (not to mention former French colonies like CAMEROON and COTE D’IVOIRE), nor did she offer up a standout BWAP. Well, at least she got shortlisted in Top Model, but would that be enough for her to secure a Top 30 spot?

GIBRALTAR – Janice Sampere. She’s actually a refreshing surprise, as she’s both gorgeous and well spoken. Her ballet background helped her gain a Talent.shortlist and perhaps is that factor that allowed her to also make it in Sports. Can we see har as a sleeper surprise for the Top 30?

GROUP 12:

NIGERIA – Oluchi Madubuike. Based on her good looks and strong communication skills (with American accent), plus her background as a frontliner being a registered nurse, she seemed to be from the same mold as her predecessor, Final Five finisher Nyekachi Douglas. However, this year we are treated to a bevy of outstanding Africans, with four of them (BOTSWANA, CAMEROON, COTE D’IVOIRE and SOUTH AFRICA) already securing Top 30 spots it will be a challenge to make room for her. At least she had a highlight being shortlisted in Sports.

PANAMA – Khrysthelle Barretto. She might have a more prominent indigenous mix to not be classified as a TLBQ but she has the presentation and demeanor of one. She’s a solid communicator, but I don’t see her impressing the MWO insiders to grant her a Top 30 spot.

MEXICO – Karolina Vidales. Like PUERTO RICO and VENEZUELA she’s one of the best TLBQ in this batch. Her twist is that she actually grew up in the USA. Her good looks and stage skills helped her get shortlisted in Top Model and she won this group’s Head to Head challenge. However, she had to contend with the formidable PHILIPPINES and was knocked out of securing a Top 30 spot via that path. However, she earned her Top 30 slot anway as she is the Sports champion. Now, the question is–can she advance to the Top 12?

KOREA – Tara Hong. Having been born in the USA, she speaks excellent English. She had the potential to be a strong interview but she exhibit hints of nervousness during the Head to Head challenge–could she make a recovery and make a strong impression during the judges’ interviews? She did make significant impact in the challenge events as she was shortlisted in Sports and Talent. Parading a red cape with elaborate gold brocade, she became the winner of the Designer Dress award.

SPAIN – Ana Garcia. She’s a good looking lady who made a commendable effort trying to speak English, but didn’t generate a standout impression. She is likely a candidate for the Holly Carpenter award since she didn’t figure in any challenge event.

MALTA – Naomi Dingli. She’s an attractive lady who is a sincere communicator. Her highlight is being shortlisted in Sports.

COMING UP: GROUPS 13 & 14