With the conclusion of last night’s Miss International Beauty Pageant held at the posh Shinagawa Prince Hotel Hall in Tokyo, the Philippines ended the BIG 4 campaign for 2013 with a total of 680 points, the highest points ever amassed by a single country in a pageant year. The Southeast Asian country is officially declared by Missosology as the “Performer of the Year” for the second consecutive year.
The Philippine rallied strongly at the very first stage with a victory at Miss World, held in Bali, courtesy of the beautiful and outgoing Megan Young. It was also the first ever blue crown for the archipelago, which earlier before the pageant started, was devastated by floodings in the main island of Luzon. That victory, plus the Top Model special award, gave the Philippines a strong lead with 210 points. France and Ghana were the 1st and 2nd Runners-up, respectively, which meant that they were also the 2nd and 3rd placers at the beginning of the BIG 4 Performer of the Year leaderboard. They got 180 and 160 points respectively. Brazil, Gibraltar and Spain followed closely.
Just less than a couple of months after Miss World, came the much anticipated Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, Russia. Unheralded Miss Venezuela, Maria Gabriela Isler, marched with an unexpected but deserving victory. That gave the pageant powerhouse 200 points for Miss Universe alone. However, since they only got 10 participating points at Miss World, it was not enough to put them on the lead. Ariella “Ara” Arida of the Philippines gave the Philippines their fourth straight Top 5 placement, with a 3rd Runner-up finish, giving 140 more points in addition to the 210 points that they already secured at Miss World. Spain’s Patricia Rodgriguez was 1st Runner-up (180 points), which gave Spain a total of 310 points, securing the second spot. At that point, it seems that there was a neck-to-neck battle between the Philippines and Spain, but alas, Brazil was also strong! Their 4th Runner-up placement was good enough to give them 120 points, in addition to the 140 points they secured at Miss World.
Last month, at the conclusion of Miss Earth, Venezuela once again emerged as the winner, giving the Philippines some reasons to worry about. Alyz Henrich gave Venezuela 206 points. It is only at Miss Earth that the special awards are only given six points, since they traditionally give five special awards every year: Miss Friendship, Best National Costume, Miss Photogenic, Best in Swimsuit and Best in Long Gown. 30 points, divided by 5 is 6 points each. When a Miss Talent is declared, it is also given six points. Although Miss Earth is a strong ground for the Philippines, Angelee de los Reyes only settled for a Top 8 placement this year, which is still good enough for 130 points. Spain made it into the Top 16, while Brazil failed to enter the semis for the first time since 2008.
At Miss International, the Philippines grabbed the crown once again, eight years after Precious Lara Quigaman won the title in Tokyo. The Philippines, a pageant that loves beauty pageants and treats their beauty queens like royalty concluded the BIG 4 Pageant Year with a bang for a country. Bea Rose Santiago effortlessly took the fifth MI crown for her country, just a month after the region where she came from was devastated by one of the world’s strongest typhoons ever recorded. It seems that for the Philippines, every natural disaster is followed by a victory in a BIG 4 pageant. With Venezuela failing to place, and Spain convincingly sweeping the pageant year with an impressive placement at all BIG 4 pageants, this year’s Performer of the Year is given once again to the Philippines, while her runner-up is Spain.
BIG 4 PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
TOP 10 LEADERBOARD
Pageant Year 2013
1. Philippines – 680 points
2. Spain – 510 points
3. Venezuela – 426 points
4. Brazil – 370 points
5. USA – 350 points
6. France – 290 points
7. Ecuador – 280 points
7. Thailand – 280 points
9. Netherlands – 260 points
10. Gibraltar – 230 points
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