Slip-ups prod Miss Grand International pageant to redo swimsuit contest

Miss Grand International delegates. Image: Facebook/Miss Grand International

MANILA, Philippines—Literal slip-ups have prompted the Miss Grand International pageant to call a do-over of the preliminary swimsuit competition held on Oct. 12 in Vietnam.

Several delegates slipped and slid, with some of them even falling to the ground, when they paraded in pink, two-piece bikinis with a halter top and rosettes on the neck. 

All the 70 delegates wore stilettos with platforms when they sashayed from a set of makeshift stairs down on a wet floor, set up by the beach. Even the Philippines’ Nikki De Moura slipped a bit during her segment.

“Today we are not grading our contestants. Meet us again on October 14th. We will score our contestants,” the Miss Grand International pageant said in a social media post.

Filipino queen Roberta Tamondong, who was fifth runner-up in last year’s competition, hosted the show.

The preliminary swimsuit competition is a crucial event for all the candidates because it will form part of the scores that will help determine the ladies who will advance to the semifinals.

The pageant’s followers may catch the proceedings on the international contest’s official YouTube channel, Grand TV.

De Moura is aiming to score the Philippines’ first “golden crown” from the Thailand-based international pageant. The highest placement for the country was posted by Nicole Cordoves and Samantha Bernardo who finished second in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Reigning queen Isabella Menin from Brazil will crown her Miss Grand International successor at the end of the coronation show at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on Oct. 25.  /ra