Saturday, March 9, 2024

71ST MISS WORLD: AT THE HOMESTRETCH -- EUROPE (PART 1)


 While in most mjjor league pageants this continent tends to field weak or less polished delegates (with a few exceptions, of course), this pageant continues to attract the highest caliber contestants from this side of the world, as exhibited by the fact that the reigning titleholder is from this region.  How well would tey fare this time?

BELGIUM - Kedist Deltour.  She was originally from Ethiopia but was adopted by a Belgian couple alongside her two siblings.  She makes a very striking impression that it's a cinch that she made the sortlist in Top Model, but she also has strong advocacies and communication skills that she made the cut in the Head-to-Head challenge.  She looks like a cinch to make the Top 40, though it's going to be a tough slog for er to secure a Top12 slot.


BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - Anđela Gajić.  She missed the Opening Ceremony and failed to figure in any fast=track event.  She's great looking, but I feel it's not enough for her to maek the Top 40.

BULGARIA - Ivana Subova.  At 16 years old, she's the youngest contestant in this year's batch.  Like  Interestingly, she's a bit more polished and prettier than her Miss Universe counterpart (who appened to be the oldest delegate in that batch) even if she's clearly less-than-polished than the other contestants here.  So, she's more middle-of-the-road than a cellar-dweller.


CROATIA - Lucija Begić.  She could have been an also-ran if it weren't that she has strong athletic abilities that she emerged as the winner of the Sports challenge, and hence secured her slot in the Top 40 by that path.


CZECH REPUBLIC - Krystyna Pyszková.  This blonde received tremendous buzz because of her stunning facial beauty, superb communication skills, and strong knack for volunteering.  She is the closest thing to the reigning Miss World Karolina Bielawska.  I'm slightly shocked she missed the cut at the Head-to-Head challenge but she made up for it by making the Top Model shortlist and having her BWAP project building schools and developing education programs for impoverished rural children in Tanzania become one of the 10 finalists.  She is emerging as the top contender for her continent, but are we ending up crowning a clone of the previous winner if she prevails?  


DENMARK - Johanne Grundt Hansen.  She's a good-looking and solid contender whose highlight is making the cut in the Sports challenge.


ENGLAND - Jessica Gagen.  This gorgeous, overachieving redhead secured her Top 40 slot by being one of the five finalists in the Head-to-Head challenge.  She also made the shortlist in Sports, and even if she missed making the Top Model shortlist, she has the gab and gorgeousness to make a serious play for the Top 12 and possibly beyond--it seems to be a battle between her and CZECH REPUBLIC for the top European in this batch.


ESTONIA - Adriana Mass.  She's a pretty blonde whose main highlight was being among the Top 14 Talent finalists with her violin playing.


FINLAND - Adelaide Botty van den Bruele.  This blonde yoga entrepreneur has a multi-cultural background as her father is Finnish and mother is French and she grew up in the United States.  She made the initial cut in Talent--wonder if she also played the violin but of course was edged out by ESTONIA.


FRANCE - Clemence Botino.  This Miss Universe 2021 Top 10 finisher knows how to make a splash as she is regarded as a great interview and a polished presence.  She only made the shortlist in Top Model but I'm still optimistic that a Top 40 slot is secure for her--now the question is, will there be enough room for her in the Top 12?


GERMANY - Aleksandra Modić.  This brunette of Serbian extraction is a decent-enough communicator who can speak five languages (German, Serbian, English, Spanish and French) but she is not really making much impact as reflected by the fact that she failed to figure in any fast-track event and I don't find her advocacy that compelling.


GIBRALTAR - Faith Torres.  This brunette has the jet-black hair and sharply contrasting fair white complexion to be considered the "Snow White" of this.  She's comely and statuesque at 1.81 m (5'11 1/2") and is a strong communicator.  But her fast-track highlight was making the Top 14 in Talent and performing an instrumental calssical piece in the gala.


GREECE - Samantha Misovits.  Though she was born and raised in Greece, her name doesn't sound Greek because both her parents are of Slavic extraction--her father is Seriban and her mother is Ukrainian but both met in this country, got married and raised their family htere.  She has an athletic background in taekwondo, which served her well as she got shortlisted in Sports.


HUNGARY -  Boglárka Hacsi.  She figured in the "homely" challenge events of Sports and Talent, with the latter being one of the 14 finalists where she performed a modern dance set to the song "River" by Bishop Briggs.  Not sure if that could give her more inroads into the Top 40 but figuring in more than one fast-track even is someting worth crowing about.


IRELAND - Ivanna McMahon.  This blonde has strong communication skills that help her garner a slot in the Head-to-Head challenge, and she made the Top 14 in Talent with her harp-playing.  Could she have an inside track for the Top 40?


ITALY - Rebecca Arnone.  She's probably the closest thing this batch to a Mireia Lalaguna*4 archetype but she has a warm, effusive personality that is likeable, that even if she failed to figure in any fast-track, she seems to be an underrated gem worth reckoning.

*4 Miss World 2015 from Spain


COMING UP:  MALTA to WALES


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