Celeste Cortesi/MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES FACEBOOK PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The preliminary competition of the 71st Miss Universe pageant will be held on Jan. 11 (Jan. 12 in Manila) in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States with all 84 delegates taking part in one of the most crucial stages of the annual event.
Gabriela Dos Santos from Curacao has already tested negative for COVID-19 and was allowed to resume her quest for the coveted title. She was earlier put on isolation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus upon her arrival in the pageant’s host state.
The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has also announced the members of the selection committees for both the preliminary competition and the final ceremonies. Those included in the Jan. 11 competition are fashion model Mara Martin, ImpactWayv Chief Marketing Officer Kathleen Ventrella, and American model Olivia Jordan who was 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach’s second runner-up.
Martin and Jordan will also sit in the final judging panel, which includes Miss Universe titleholders Ximena Navarrete and Wendy Fitzwilliam, American celebrity Emily Austin, rapper Big Freedia, TV host Myrka Dellanos, Roku executive Sweta Patel, and US-based Filipino entrepreneur Olivia Quido-Co who has been the pageant’s official skin care sponsor for several years now.
New MUO owner Anne Jakrajutatip of Thai conglomerate JKN Global Group said in an earlier interview on Thai media that the 71st Miss Universe pageant will have an all-female judging panel, like in the 70th edition held in Israel in December 2021.
The 2018 Miss Universe pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand, also had a judging committee composed entirely of women. Catriona Gray from the Philippines won in that competition.
The preliminary competition will have all the delegates parade in swimwear designed by 1995 Miss World Jacqueline Aquilera from Venezuela, and wearing the “Maureen” shoes by Filipino shoemaker Jojo Bragais. The candidates will also walk in their evening gowns one-by-one.
Celeste Cortesi/MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES FACEBOOK PHOTO
Real-time streaming will be available on the pageant’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and via the Lazada app in the Philippines on Jan. 12, at 9 a.m. The national costume show will follow at 11 a.m., also on the aforementioned digital platforms.
The preliminary competition will help determine who will proceed to the semifinal round of the competition. The individual closed-door interview session with all the delegates was scheduled on Jan. 10 and 11. The ladies advancing to the next stage of the competition will be announced on the coronation show.
The 71st Miss Universe pageant, technically its edition for 2022, will hold its coronation show at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 14 (Jan. 15 in Manila). Italian-Filipino model and realtor Celeste Cortesi will attempt to give the Philippines its fifth victory in the annual competition.
Harnaaz Sandhu, the third winner from India, will relinquish her title to her successor at the culmination of the final competition. – JMS