Venezuela’s Andrea Rubio is new Miss International; PH’s Nicole Borromeo places 3rd runner-up

Venezuela’s Andrea Rubio. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina

TOKYO, Japan — The Miss International pageant has found its 61st queen in Andrea Rubio from Venezuela, who bested 69 other women from all over the world, including the Philippines’ Nicole Borromeo, in ceremonies held at the Yoyogi Gymnasium No. 2 here on Oct. 26.

Rubio inherited the title from last year’s winner, Jasmin Selberg. She inherited the title from last year’s winner, Jasmin Selberg, and became her country’s ninth winner since the international pageant’s inception in the United States in 1960.

Aside from Borromeo, those who made up the new queen’s court are: Sofia Oslo Luna of Colombia (first runner-up), Camila Diaz of Peru (second runner-up), and Vanessa Hayes of Bolivia (fourth runner-runner-up).

Borromeo had to wait more than a year before seeing action on the international stage. She received the Binibining Pilipinas International title in July 2022 from her predecessor Hannah Arnold, who was sent to the 2022 Miss International pageant later that year.

Philippines’ Nicole Borromeo. Image: Instagram/Binibining Pilipinas

Meanwhile, the special awards are as follows:

Best National Costume
– Angola

Best in Evening Gown
– Indonesia

Miss Fitness
– Zimbabwe

Miss Photogenic
– New Zealand

Miss International Andrea Rubio of Venezuela (center) with her runners-up (from left) Nicole Borromeo of the Philippines, Sofia Oslo of Colombia, Camila Diaz of Peru, and Vanessa Hayes of Bolivia. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina

This year’s edition of the Miss International pageant implemented major changes in the way the competition was mounted. For one, it was held in the evening in Tokyo, while the previous editions were done in the afternoon. They also moved to a bigger venue this year to accommodate a larger crowd. Since 2016, the Tokyo Dome City Hall was home to the global tilt.

And instead of delivering prepared speeches, the finalists underwent a question-and-answer round.

But perhaps the biggest change was the scrapping of the swimsuit parade during the final competition. This also resulted in a program that was much shorter than the four-hour ceremonies in the past editions. The organizers clarified, though, that the delegates were still assessed in their swimwear for body proportions and skin quality in a closed-door evaluation.

There have been six former Miss International winners from the Philippines— Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013) and Kylie Verzosa (2016).

From among the longest running global competitions in the world, the Philippines has found most success in the Miss International pageant, only trailing Venezuela’s eight-win record.