GB (Global Beauties) has divided the 89 candidates into 5 different groups, depending on their favoritism level, in our opinion. We don’t know weather we are right or wrong. We just want to share with you our very personal views on what might happen tomorrow, or what we believe should happen tomorrow. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) we do not have a crystal ball. The actual outcome of Miss U 2011, only God knows! Enjoy it:
The ones to beat
Australia – China – Costa Rica – France – Greece – Malaysia – Philippines One of these 7 women should be the next Miss Universe – GB’s 7 wonders of the Universe for 2011! The one with an extra edge here is
Miss China, who has not only the beauty, poise and height expected from a Miss Universe, but also a strong lobby. Her national director and team seem to be everywhere, at the same time. They are always after judges and MUO staff. Beauty + business seems to be the perfect combination in this game. If she gets to the top 5, and survives the final question,
China could have its first Miss Universe.
France, if not the most stunning girl around, is one of the most charismatic. She naturally stands out.
Malaysia has the complete package: articulate, classy, well prepared. The best of East and West meet in this woman: Deborah Henry. Then we have
Miss Philippines, the Asian swan. With a Brook Lee vibe, a radiant smile, and amazing elegance, Ms. Supsup is another clear option for the crown.
Australia is adorable, bubbly, gorgeous. She took the stage by storm last Thursday and is expected do it again on Monday night.
Greece can easily be pictured on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, the most fashionable catwalk of the competition. Finally, we have
Miss Costa Rica, the strongest Latin contender this year. A wrong gown choice may have hurt her preliminary score a bit, but she should be up there.
Strong candidates
Angola – Aruba – Brazil – Finland – Kosovo – Nicaragua – Paraguay – Puerto Rico – Spain – Trinidad & Tobago – Ukraine – USA – Venezuela These women are expected to be, at least, semi-finalists.
Miss USA, for instance, started the competition as the major favorite for the crown, right next to
China. However, she lost too much weight and did not look healthy in her swimsuit. Our prognostic is that she won’t survive the swimsuit competition (top 16), however, if she does, Alyssa will immediately jump back to the main favorites batch and be back in the fight for the crown.
Angola is stunning, but lacks energy on stage. The same goes for
Finland, who was not properly produced (hair, make up, poor gown choice) in the Preliminary Competition.
Nicaragua is one of the most competitive candidates ever sent by her country. A class act, she can even land in the top 5. Kosovo,
Paraguay and
Puerto Rico did everything right in the preliminary event.
Kosovo and Puerto Rico look better when they are not smiling, but both have potential to go far in the competition.
Aruba has a striking resemblance with Miss Universe 1999, Mpule Kwelagobe. She truly rocks the stage and has an amazing figure.
Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ukraine, are fantastic, and are great possibilities for the top 10, or even the top 5.
Then we have
Miss Brazil, who is not among the best, but good enough to be a semi-finalist. Playing at home may give her an extra edge. As a matter of fact, anything can happen to her, from not placing at all, to being a top 5 finalist. Winning would be too much of a stretch. Whatever the case is, we hope Brazilians will show respect to their own candidate when she appears on stage.
During the three weeks of competition,
Venezuela never looked “happy” in Săo Paulo, her face was one of very few friends. However, at the Presentation Show she knew how to work the stage and the public. For GB’s taste and views, Vanessa looks outdated and a bit artificial, but many like her, and she comes from Venezuela, which is usually a plus for a beauty queen. Like
Miss Brazil, she can go from not placing at all, to a spot in the top 5. If she deserves that or not, is up to each person’s criteria and taste… What will the judges think of her?
Fair possibilities
Albania – Argentina – Bolivia – Chile – Colombia – Curaçao – Dominican Republic – Ghana – Haiti – Hungary – Israel – Japan – Korea – Lebanon – Mauritius – Mexico – Netherlands – Panama – Peru – Poland – Portugal – Russia – Sweden – Switzerland – Thailand – Vietnam Expect 2 or 3 girls from this group to surprise us all on Monday night. Russia looks stunning, has THE GOWN, but it looks like she doesn’t want it. Zero energy. Mexico was one of the positive surprises of the preliminaries, she looked absolutely beautiful and elegant, but like Russia, did not show much enthusiasm. Miss Netherlands, regarded by some blogs and pageant fans as a top contender, is undoubtedly beautiful and could pull a surprise, but we don’t see her as a major favorite. Portugal did everything right, she would be a pleasant surprise. Albania could once again be one of the MUO’s 6 picks, who knows, and so could beautiful Hungary. MUO seems to love the Eastern Europeans. Peru, Korea, Ghana and Switzerland are strong, eye on them. Panama was not properly groomed for this pageant, her presentations and wardrobe screamed “the 80′s!”. However, it will host the Miss Universe pageant in 2013, which could help her placing. Israel has been losing ground, but she’s lovely. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see Mauritius placing for the first time in Miss Universe history? Bolivia did great in swimsuit and gown, however, if her interview with the judges was as poor as her video interview, she stands no chance whatsoever. Creatures on an other planet could not come from God, Miss Bolivia? Finally, a tip to Colombia, who’s a hurricane on stage: if you advance in the competition, don’t forget to wear panties!
Dark Horses
Bahamas – Belgium – Canada – Cayman Islands – Croatia – Cyprus – Czech Republic – Denmark – Ecuador – Egypt – Estonia – Great Britain – Guatemala – Honduras – India – Indonesia – Ireland – Montenegro – Romania – Serbia – Slovakia – South Africa – St. Lucia – Turkey – US Virgin Islands – Uruguay Remember Hungary placing in 2008? Or Puerto Rico arriving at the 3rd position in 2004? Or yet, Switzerland in the Top 10 of 2009? Right, Miss Universe always reserves some shocking surprises for its audience, so do not faint if one of the girls in this group go on in the competition. The strongest one here is Miss Canada, who started out as a pre-pageant favorite, whose beauty in undeniable, whose personality and intelligence took her to a third place in Miss Global Teen 2010, but whose disastrous gown choice for the preliminary event (truly horrible!), may have killed all her chances. The same goes for Belgium, a country which placed in the two last couple of years, but wore an awful gown to compete (what was that?). Czech Republic has been picked by the MUO in the last 4 years, not always deservingly so. Will the Czech streak continue? India and South Africa have the sash factor playing for them, but are not as competitive as most of their recent predecessors. Great Britain was the 2nd runner-up in Miss International, but this is a whole different game.
Very long shots
Botswana – British Virgin Islands – El Salvador – Georgia – Germany – Guam – Guyana – Italy – Jamaica – Kazakhstan – New Zealand – Nigeria – Singapore – Slovenia – Sri Lanka – Tanzania – Turks & Caicos Never try to guess what will come out of a beauty pageant judge’s mind or a baby’s diaper, so there’s always hope for everyone in this group as well! Sri Lanka, Turks & Caicos, and Tanzania, for instance, might have nailed their interviews with the preliminary judges.
Wrapping it up
In the end of the day, winning or losing, placing or not, all candidates will go back home where they are queens already, something no one can take away from them. Global Beauties congratulates all of them for their efforts, for doing the best they could do, for being amazing representatives of their nations. All 89 know what winning is, and we hope the 88 who will learn what losing is tomorrow night, do it with grace and elegance, after all, only one lucky woman will forever be referred as Miss Universe 2011. Best of luck to all!
