Miss Philippines is crowned Miss Universe 2015

Mabuhay Miss Universe 2015! Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzback was proclaimed the 64^th Miss Universe on Sunday night, December 21, 2015 at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas Resort and Casino, USA. Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez was named 1^st Runner-up and Miss USA Olivia Jordan was 2^nd Runner-up.

In the top five are Miss Australia Monika Radulovic and Miss France Flora Coquerel. Breaching to the top ten are Miss Japan, Miss Thailand, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Curacao and Miss Venezuela while completing the top fifteen are Miss Mexico, Miss South Africa, Miss Belgium, Miss Brazil and Miss Indonesia.

Only the top five finalists advanced to the candidate-specific question and answer round, after which the top three finalists were selected and asked the same final question “Why should you be the next Miss Universe?” To which the winner, Miss Philippines answered, “To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and a responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth and I will raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country, the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart.”

In an unprecedented Miss Universe crowning faux pas that many won’t forget anytime soon, Miss Colombia was crowned first by fellow Colombian Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega in what could have been a back-to-back win but had to take off the crown to place it on Miss Philippines.  This was when host Steve Harvey accidentally announced her as winner. He thereafter came back front stage, apologized, corrected himself, showed the results in the final elimination card for all to see and finally announced the rightful winner, needless to say, after inadvertently putting the two contestants in an unsettling situation.

Before clinching this year's Miss Universe crown, the Philippines had consistently placed as one of the top ten finalists in this pageant the last five years, four of which are in the top 5. This is the 3^rd Miss Universe crown for the Philippines after a lapse of 42 years. The two other titleholders are Gloria Diaz, Miss Universe 1969 and Margarita Moran, Miss Universe 1973. 

Something different about Mr. Universal Ambassador, the pageant

Something about Mr. Universal Ambassador sets it uniquely apart from other known mister pageants in the world today that follow the basic national costume, fashion, swimwear, formal wear and interview format. To some extent this pageant follows the same format but with a wee bit more than the usual, and a unique quality and flavor of its own.

This brand-new pageant just concluded its first edition in Surabaya, Indonesia November 3-13, 2015. And if you had followed the proceedings, you may have had noticed some discernible differences in its thrusts and mix of activities from other established pageants. Over and above the openly stated objectives and visible conduct of the pageant, something far more insightful and well known of Indonesia in character and perspective, governs this pageant.

Miss Philippines, Angelia Ong pulls off a back-to-back at Miss Earth 2015 in Austria

Cheers to Miss Philippines who won anew the crown of Miss Earth in a record setting first back-to-back win in the history of the pageant. Angelia Gabrena Ong succeeds fellow Filipina, Jamie Herrell after she bested 85 other women Earth warriors at the 15^th year edition that took place at the Marx Halle in Vienna, Austria on December 5, 2015. In what could be said was an upset victory, Miss Philippines outshone the rest of the finalists in the question and answer portion that saw her shot to the top of the judges’ scorecards.

Asked by one of the judges to come up with a slogan that could take the Miss Earth pageant through the next 15 years and could take the place of its existing slogan “Beauties for a Cause,” she replied: “We will, because we can. I want to let everybody know that everything is possible and everything is feasible if we work together. We will, because we can.”

Making up her elemental court are Miss Australia, Dayanna Grageda – Miss Earth Air (1^st Runner-up); Miss USA, Brittany Payne – Miss Earth Water (2^nd Runner-up) and Miss Brazil, Thiessa Sickert – Miss Earth Fire (3^rd Runner-up). In the top 8 are Austria, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. While making it to the top 16 are Czech Republic, France, Guam, Hungary, Mauritius, Mongolia, Scotland and Ukraine. Countries and territories that made their debut in this year’s pageant are Armenia and New Caledonia.

The coronation show was hosted by Oli Pettigrew, Joey Mead King and Katia Wagner. The panel of judges included dignitaries from the United Nations and UNIDO, a European fashion designer, a European film director, the owner of Fashion TV (FTV), the chairwoman of the MEO and the first Miss Earth winner who is from Denmark.    

“We will, because we can!” We are beginning to like it. It is catchy, timely, strong, affirmative and inclusive. We hope the Miss Earth organization will actually adopt it as its new slogan for the next decade and a half.

Switzerland prevails! Pedro Mendes is Mister International 2015

The grueling wait is over. After religiously watching two weeks of nonstop pageant activities and finals that lasted close to five hours, the 10^th year edition of Mister International is finally over. In what could be the most frustratingly unpredictable edition of the pageant where picking the candidates most likely to win was everyone’s guessing game, the final crop of winners is out. The die is cast and everyone can now put behind the never-ending squabbling, heckling, guesstimating and recalculating of outcomes.

Now it can be told, Switzerland’s Pedro Mendes came out on top of the heap. He is Mister International 2015, taking over the helm from Mister International 2014, Philippines’ Neil Perez. In his trail are Brazil, Anderson Tomazini – 1^st Runner-up; Korea, Sang Jin Li - 2^nd Runner-up; Panama, Julian Javier Torres, 3^rd Runner-up; and Czech Republic; Jakub Kraus - 4^th Runner-up.