The 65th Miss Universe pageant will feature another gathering of previous Miss Universe winners with five former titlists flying to Manila to grace the coronation finals on Jan. 30 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Lupita Jones, the first Mexican woman to win in 1991, was the first to arrive in the country for the Miss Universe pageant. The 42-year-old actress and currently the director of Nuestra Belleza Mexico, the Miss Universe pageant franchise in Mexico, came to give support to Miss Universe Mexico 2016 Kristal Silva.
Natalie Glebova, who was crowned Miss Universe in 2005 in Thailand, will be on her second travel to Manila following her co-hosting job of the 2016 Miss Global pageant. The 35-year-old, former wife of Thai tennis superstar Paradorn Srichaphan, is coming over with her baby daughter Maya from her present handsome Panamanian fiancé.
Riyo Mori, the second Miss Universe from Japan who won in 2007, will sit as one of the judges along with India’s first winner Sushmita Sen, the winner in 1994 in Manila. Sen, now 41, who has become an award-winning Bollywood actress, expressed excitement on her ‘returning home’ to the Philippines after 23 years.
“I’m getting ready with a dancing heart. It’s where it all began. Life comes full circle from winning Miss Universe to having owned its Indian Franchise to now…returning back to Manila this time as a judge,” she posted on her Instagram.
Puerto Rican Dayanara Torres, Miss Universe of 1993 who came to Manila in 1994 to crown her successor, and who started her movie career and became local TV’s “Dancing Queen” has confirmed her plan to return to the local entertainment scene and may also be a part of the Miss Universe grand coronation.
Leila Lopes from Angola will also be one of the judges. She’s the winner in 2011 when Shamcey Supsup placed 3rd Runnerup in the pageant held in Brazil.
The 65th Miss Universe coronation night will be telecast live on Solar, ETC, ABS-CBN Channel 2 and GMA 7, withthe controversial Steve Harvey as host and model Ashley Graham as backstage anchor.
The finals will have a new format with a Top 12, instead of a Top 15, pre-determined by the judges during the preliminary round of the competition.
The Top 12 will then be trimmed to the Top 9, determined by the scores of the judges and the fans’ votes after the swimsuit segment. Then. the Top 6 will be chosen, after the evening gown segment with the contestants going through the Q&A round.
From the Top 6 will emerge the Top 3 with the judges getting a “Final Look” and along with the fans (home viewers) will be asked to make a decision based on their overall performance. Rather than score, this segment will be ranked. The judges and home viewers will base their choices on their personal judgment after the Final Look.
The Philippines’ bet Maxine Medina could increase her chances in winning the title since the local fans are considered the biggest fans in the world.