Stay tuned for more Miss International 2024 real-time updates!!!
Binibining Pilipinas Angelica Lopez and BPCI chair Madame Stella Marquez-Araneta. Image from Binibining Pilipinas Facebook.
TOKYO — Angelica Lopez got a boost from philanthropist Stella Marquez-Araneta who is cheering on her pageant “daughter” in her bid to win the Miss International crown today here at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Japan.
Araneta, a Colombian who won the first Miss International crown in 1960, is now the chairperson of the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI). The national pageant matriarch won the crown in the international pageant’s first edition held in California, in the United States. She married Filipino entrepreneur Jorge Araneta, settled in the Philippines, and later headed BPCI.
In her post, Araneta greeted Lopez at the culmination of her Miss International journey.
“We are proud to see you radiate joy and elegance at every step of your Miss International journey,” Araneta said in a post shared by the Binibining Pilipinas pageant on Tuesday morning, Nov. 12.
“Continue to captivate us all with your grace, beauty, and determined spirit. Remember that your BPCI family is just here, cheering you as you reach for that much-awaited crown,” Araneta further said.
The national pageant organization also made another push for online votes to propel the country’s bet further in the competition. “Cast your vote on the Miss International app,” Bb. Pilipinas said.
The delegates with the most votes from the three regional clusters will earn guaranteed spots in the Top 20. Lopez is in the race in the “Asia Oceania” group. The other clusters are for Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Another round of voting will take place after the announcement of the Top 20, to help the ladies advance to the Top 8 of the competition.
“We are hours away from the Miss International 2024 Final Gala. Let us wish our Binibining Pilipinas International 2023 Angelica Lopez the best of luck as she represents the Philippines on the international stage,” Bb. Pilipinas said.
The 2024 Miss International Finale Gala will be held at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan, tonight, Nov. 12, at 6 P.M. Viewers in the Philippines may watch it via the pageant’s official YouTube channel at 5 P.M.
Lopez is hoping to become the seventh Filipino woman to be crowned Miss International, following Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Verzosa (2016).