The contestants in colorful arrays of Indonesian traditional costumes during the end of the show
A Small Venue for A Big Event
For an event as big as Miss World Opening Show, we must say that Mangupura Hall is quite a small venue. With the grand design of the stage used for the show, there was perhaps only enough space left to accomodate slightly less than 500 spectators. Certainly not what we expect, especially when compared with Ordos Stadium last year, which accomodated 40,000 spectators for Miss World 2012 Opening Ceremony. On the bright side, despite the limited space, the organizer manage to build a simple yet an elegant stage for the show. While it is far from being one the best of the most memorable design of stage we have ever seen in pageantry, it is certainly not hideous or terrible too.
Miss Puerto Rico Nadyalee Torres entering the Mangupura Hall
Miss Ukraine Anna Zaiachkivska and Miss United States Olivia Jordan entering the Mangupura Hall
Miss Northern Ireland Meagan Green posing for the press before entering the Mangupura Hall
The VVIP Guests
Chairwoman of Miss World Organization Julia Morley was obviously there. Mr Hary Tanoesoedibjo, CEO of MNC group, and wife Mrs Liliana Tanoesoedibjo, founder of Miss Indonesia, as expected, also attended the event. Also attending the event were Governor of Bali Mr Made Mangku Pastika, Head of Indonesian Regional Representative Council Mr Imran Gusman, and Miss Indonesia 2012 Inesh Putri. And as if there were not enough beautiful people on the stage for the night, the VVIP seats were also swarmed by Indonesian beautiful people themselves, including several famous Indonesian movie and television stars.
Parade of Nations with Guinea and Guyana
Parade of Nations with Bolivia
Parade of Nations with Brazil
Parade of Nations
The whole show could be divided into 3 different parts. The ones that showcase the contestants. The ones that showcase Indonesian culture. And the ones that showcase Indonesian singing talents. But as pageant fans, we will only talk the ones that showcase the contestants, starting with the most-awaited Parade of Nations. If we have to choose one highlight for the night, we will definitely pick this segment. After seeing sea of pictures of these beautiful ladies for days, we finally get to see them in motion. And most of them did not dissapoint us. The ones that impress us the most were Albania, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chinese Taipei, China PR, Denmark, France, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, India, Japan, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, and United States. So many stunners this year and the Parade of Nation shows us that the level of competition for Miss World 2013 is totally insane! We also love the music used in this segment as it was an ensemble of various Indonesian traditional folk songs.
The Dancers and The Speakers
Aside from their nearly 3 seconds of fame during Parade of Nations, several contestants got extra moment to shine on the show, namely the ones chosen to perform the Kipas Cendana dance and the ones allegedly picked to do a short interview with the host. The Kipas Cendana segment featured 16 contestants to perform a dance created by dancer and choreographer Eko Supriyanto, famously known for being one of Madonna’s dancer during one of her world tour. Considering that most of them did not have dancing background and they only had short time to learn it, we have to applaud the girls for pulling it off and giving a beautiful performance. The interview segment featured 5 contestants, which were Netherlands, Cameroon, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Indonesia, to have a short chit-chat with host Daniel Mananta. Although the host claimed that these lucky girls were randomly picked through a draw, we know that they were actually pre-determined prior to the show as pictures of these 5 girls rehearsing for this segment surfaced on the internet a day after the show. It makes us wonder if these 5 girls are the best speakers among the contestants or if they were the ones favored by Miss World Organization. For either reason, we can expect these girls to go far in the competition.
Opening segment from Kipas Cendana dance
Middle segment from Kipas Cendana dance
Closing segment from Kipas Cendana dance
The Dancers and The Speakers
Aside from their nearly 3 seconds of fame during Parade of Nations, several contestants got extra moment to shine on the show, namely the ones chosen to perform the Kipas Cendana dance and the ones allegedly picked to do a short interview with the host. The Kipas Cendana segment featured 16 contestants to perform a dance created by dancer and choreographer Eko Supriyanto, famously known for being one of Madonna’s dancer during one of her world tour. Considering that most of them did not have dancing background and they only had short time to learn it, we have to applaud the girls for pulling it off and giving a beautiful performance. The interview segment featured 5 contestants, which were Netherlands, Cameroon, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Indonesia, to have a short chit-chat with host Daniel Mananta. Although the host claimed that these lucky girls were randomly picked through a draw, we know that they were actually pre-determined prior to the show as pictures of these 5 girls rehearsing for this segment surfaced on the internet a day after the show. It makes us wonder if these 5 girls are the best speakers among the contestants or if they were the ones favored by Miss World Organization. For either reason, we can expect these girls to go far in the competition.
Italy, Jamaica, Japan, and Kazakhstan in traditional attire
Iceland, India, Indonesia, and Ireland in traditional attire
Chile, Chinese Taipei, China PR, and Colombia in traditional attire
Unity in Diversity
The most dramatic and memorable part of the show was, unarguably, the closing, when all contestants paraded in colorful arrays of Indonesian traditional costumes. Nationalistic aside, we love this part the most as it finally gave us a chance to see all of these beauties together in one stage. The bright and colorful costumes also added dramatic feeling to the scene, as the stage seems to suddenly turn into a burst of bright and beautiful colors. What makes us love this segment even more, once all contestants appeared on the stage, they held each other hands and sang the Miss World anthem “Light The Passion, Share The Dream”, a powerful moment that shows us the beauty of unity in diversity.
United States in traditional attire
France in traditional attire
Guam in traditional attire
The Reigning Queen
Nearing the end of the show, a lot of fans may wonder, where’s the reigning Queen? Miss World 2012 Wenxia Yu was virtually nowhere to be found until the very last minute of the show, when in a very grandiose way, she made her entrance to greet the world. Surely, Wenxia Yu is not the most beautiful Miss World ever. That distinction, in our opinion, still belongs to the heavenly Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai. But she has this charisma, a sense of sincerity, that makes all of believe her genuine feeling and commitment towards Miss World humanitarian cause. And most of the times charisma wins over beauty. Her reign may be over soon, but for us, Wenxia Yu will remain as one of the most memorable Miss World winner in our time.
All contestants holding hands and singing Miss World anthem
Stay tuned for our Part 2 of our article for more pictures from the Opening Show
Photos by : Bayu Asmara
Article by : Ayus Wijaya
Article by : Ayus Wijaya
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