Alexandra Rosales brings Miss Grand Philippines 2024 roster to 20

Alexandra Rosales debuts a fresh look for her Miss Grand Philippines campaign. Image: Facebook/Alexandra Mae Rosales

International titleholder Alexandra Mae Rosales brought Filipino pageant fans to a frenzy on Tuesday, Sept. 24, when news of her inclusion in the 2024 Miss Grand Philippines contest circulated online.

The pageant veteran appeared in several photos sporting a new look, trading her long locks for a sleek chin-length do, for her campaign to represent the Philippines anew on the international stage.

When the candidates in this year’s edition of the national competition were presented to members of the media in Makati City on Monday, Sept. 23, only 19 ladies paraded. The list provided to the guests had the participants arranged alphabetically by the places they come from, and Rosales was not on it.

Her addition to the roster places her as candidate number 20, even if the province of Laguna that she is representing in the pageant could have placed her somewhere in the middle of the lineup.

The 2024 Miss Grand Philippines pageant encountered several delays. A call for applicants was first made earlier in the year, and organizer Arnold Vegafria of ALV Pageant Circle announced that the new queen will be crowned in August after the staging of his other pageant Miss World Philippines in July.

The final screening for Miss Grand Philippines applicants was also postponed several times, until it was announced that the aspirants’ first appearance before the media would be the press presentation.

Rosales has made the rounds of beauty competitions here and abroad. She took part in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 2021, and then represented the Philippines in the Miss Supermodel Worldwide contest in India in 2022, where she became the first Filipino woman to win the title.

She also joined the recent Miss Universe Philippines pageant as the representative of the province of Laguna, and finished in the Top 10. 

The Philippines is still on a hunt for the elusive “golden crown” of the Thailand-based Miss Grand International pageant. The closest the country has ever gotten to winning were the first runner-up placements posted by Nicole Cordoves in 2016 and Samantha Bernardo in 2020.

The 2024 Miss Grand Philippines coronation night will be held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City on Sunday, Sept. 29. Aside from the main winner, the competition will also choose the country’s delegate to the 2025 Universal Woman contest.