MOROCCO - Sonia Aït Mansour. It's nice to see this country back in this pageant after an absence of 56 years (they last competed in 1968) She seems to be a solid, polished, and attractive-enough contender, but her sole highlight in this festival is making the shortlist in the Sports challenge.
NAMIBIA - Leone van Jaarsveld. She's a gorgeous, well-spoken Caucasian blonde who only figured in the "homely" fast-track event of Sports. Considering the abundance of strong contenders from this continent this year, would her skin color be a disadvantage and make her miss the Top 40?
NIGERIA - Ada Eme. She secured her Top 40 slot by being among the five Head-to-Head Challenge finalists, and she also figured in Top Model, so I'm bullish about her prospects making the Top 12 and possibly even beyond. She seems to have what it takes to make that big a splash.
SENEGAL - Fatou L'Eau. She seems to have brought a whole bunch of wigs and hair accessories with her as her hairstyle looks very different in almost every appearance--most especially Top Model, where she sported an Afro wig during te designer dress round, and then in the standard top model round she sported straight hair. That could've been a possible ticket to being shortlisted in Top Model, but she fell short.
SIERRA LEONE - Daisy Princess Mujeh Abdulai. I don't find her conventionally pretty, but she exudes a likeable vibe. She hasn't figured in any fast-track and with a deep bench like this year turned out to be, she might just end up as a worthwhile contender at most.
SOMALIA - Bahja Mohamoud. It's quite interesting that during the Opening Ceremony, she let her hair be exposed, though she does still sport a small veil on top of her head. But later on she kept the hijabi look that we now expect from contestants from this country. I'm not as bullish if she'll be able to mimim the Top 13 finish of her predecessor, Khadija Omar especially as she didn't figure in any fast-track even and neither did her Miss World page was hopelessly threadbare--not even an itnroduction video or BWAP video.
SOUTH AFRICA - Claude Mashego. This country is normally a powerouse in this pageant especially with three crowns to its belt, but it's interesting that buzz is relatively muted for this lady. Sure, she made the Top 25 in Head-to-Head, made the shortlist in Sports, and made the initial Top 23 in Talent. Yes, she's clearly overshadowed by BOTSWANA, but other Africans seem to be rising from the woodwork that like her predecessor, Shudufhadzo Musida, the Top 40 is as far as she could conceivably go.
SOUTH SUDAN - Arek Abraham Albino Atol. It's quite interesting that on the Miss World website, she was identified with the surname "Atol" when she never mentioned tat name in her introduction video. I don't find er conventiontionally pretty but she was very well-spoken in her introduction video, and with cosmopolitan muzak playing she exudes an upscale, urbanized cosmopolitan side of her country. With the fierce photos I saw from her Top Model appearance, I have a feeling she missed the cut for her region by only a few slivers. She did figure in the "homely" fast-track of Sports.
TANZANIA - Halima Kopwil. I find her great looking and although she missed in most fast-track challenges, she snagged a finalist slot in what is increasingly the most important criteria in this pageant--her BWAP project addressing the issues of high childbirth mortality in her country. This is most likely her ticket to make it into te Top 40.
TOGO - Chimène Moladja. I'm slightly surprised that she made the shortlist in Top Model as I would've probably selected the likes of SENEGAL, SOUTH SUDAN or ZIMBABWE in her place, but she seemed to make a significant transformation in the final round by putting her hair up after being called into the Top 20.
TUNISIA - Imen Mehrzi. She's only one of three ligt-skinned contestants from this continent (the others being MOROCCO and NAMIBIA) and she's a good looking woman who has a multifaceted background being an engineering graduate and pursuing a showbiz career as an actress, TV presenter, and singer. The latter aspect was what made her stand out and she won the Talent fast-track with her singing--she performed Adele's James Bond theme, "Skyfall"--it's such a shame it seems YouTube muted her performance in the available audience-cam Talent gala video.
UGANDA - Hannah Karema Tumukunde. She's in the same boat as TANZANIA, as she's a great-looking lady who only figured in the most important fast-track, BWAP. Her project, in fact, became rated ast the best from the African continent--it's about her advocacy toward empowering girls with education to prevent the endemic practice of child marriages, which is more compelling as she has a personal stake in it as she was raised by a single father and had a bunch of sisters who were caught in the societal pressures to be married off even if in modern conventions this is reprehensible. It looks like a Top 40 spot is securerd but could she advance even further to the Top 12 and beyond?
ZIMBABWE - Nokutenda Marumbwa. She secured her Top 40 spot early on by becoming one of the five finalistrs in the Head-to-Head challenge. She seems to be a strong all-around contender who can possibly make a play for the Top 12.
COMING UP: EUROPE (BELGIUM to ITALY)
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