MGI All-Stars format lets fans boost their bets’ chance

Fans will have a huge say in the outcome of the first edition of the MGI All-Stars pageant in Thailand next month as public votes take a significant weight in every stage of the competition.

One of the three “Fast-Track Awards” is the “World’s Choice,” which will go to the candidate who amasses the most votes by the end of the voting period.

Whoever receives this award will advance straight to the Top 18, along with the winners of the “Best Runway” and “Best Portrait” awards, based on the candidates’ performances in the runway and portrait challenges.

For the preliminary rounds of the competition, 70 percent of the scores will come from the judges, while public votes will account for the remaining 30 percent.

The candidates will undergo the preliminary interview, evening gown, “bare face,” and swimsuit rounds to determine the 15 ladies who will join the three fast-track award winners in the Top 18 of the final competition.

At the “Grand Final” at the MGI Hall in Bangkok on May 30, all scores will reset to zero after the announcement of the Top 18. Every stage of the competition thereafter will still follow the 70-30 ratio between the judges’ scores and public votes.

The next elimination will be the Top 10, followed by the cut to the Top 5. In the final round, only three ladies will remain.

Two runners-up will be announced alongside the grand winner of MGI All-Stars, who will still be chosen through a combination of 70 percent from the judges’ scores and 30 percent from public votes.

Filipino international shoe designer Jojo Bragais is part of the judging panel, which also includes Miss Universe winners Lupita Jones and Natalie Glebova, Miss Grand International titleholders Isabella Menin and Abena Akuaba Appiah, French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch, and Venezuelan queen maker Osmel Sousa.

Five candidates are from the Philippines: Fuschia Anne Ravena, Keylyn Trajano, Imelda Schweighart, Alexia Nuñez, and Gazini Ganados.

MGI All-Stars is a groundbreaking international competition that gathers women who have already competed in global pageants.

The contest is open to women aged 18 to 40, whether single, married, divorced, or separated. It also accepts mothers and transgender women. Fifty-eight contestants from 38 countries are taking part this year.

The competition is organized by the same team behind the annual Miss Grand International pageant, whose reigning titleholder is Filipino queen Emma Tiglao. /mcm