Miss Cosmo 2024 is Ketut Permata Juliastrid of Indonesia. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Miss Cosmo
MANILA, Philippines – The Miss Cosmo pageant has crowned its first-ever queen in Ketut Permata Juliastrid of Indonesia, who won the title at the Saigon Riverside Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Saturday night, Oct. 5.
She bested 55 other aspirants from around the world in the first-ever staging of the Vietnam-based pageant, and has made history as the pioneering titleholder of the new global tilt. She also took home $100,000.
Mook Karnruethai Tassabut of Thailand settled for the first runner-up spot, while the remaining delegates in the Top 5 were Romina Lozano of Peru, Samantha Elliott of USA, and Bùi Thi Xuân Hạnh of Vietnam.
Miss Cosmo first runner-up Karnruethai Tassabut of Thailand. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Miss Cosmo
The Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo finished in the Top 10.
She also received the “Cosmo People’s Choice” award for amassing the most votes in an online poll as well as the Miss Cosmo Tourism Ambassador award.
The entrepreneur from Quezon province is a pageant veteran who was first runner-up in the 2018 Miss International competition in Japan.
She earned her ticket to the Miss Cosmo contest after finishing as second runner-up in the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant in May.
Among the members of the competition’s jury panel were 2021 Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu from India, former Miss Universe Organization Pres. Paula Shugart, 2022 Miss Supranational second runner-up Kim Duyen from Vietnam, and Vietnamese beauty queen H’Hen Nie, who finished in the Top 5 of the 2018 Miss Universe pageant.
Filipino actress, entrepreneur, and 2016 Miss International Kylie Verzosa hosted the ceremonies. She was also one of the presenters at the “jury session” held on Thursday night, Oct. 3, where the delegates underwent preliminary judging.
Filipino-Kiwi actress and former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Franki Russell, meanwhile, represented her father’s native country of New Zealand.
Russell made it to the pageant’s Top 21 finalists, and won the Best National Costume award.
The inaugural staging of the Miss Cosmo pageant encountered a major obstacle at the homestretch of the competition when metal trusses collapsed on the main stage at the original venue of the preliminary competition and finale show, the Phu Tho Stadium, also in Ho Chi Minh.
Because of the incident, the organizers rescheduled the Oct. 2 jury session to Oct. 3, and transferred the event to the White Palace Vo Van Kiet in Ho Chi Minh City.
It was also the reason behind the decision to mount the finale show at the Saigon Riverside Park.