The Leaderboard
1 Brazil
2 Philippines
3 Ukraine
4 France
5 Indonesia
6 Ghana
7 Spain
8 Italy
9 Australia
10 England
11 Cameroon
12 Jamaica
13 India
14 Nepal
15 United States
16 China PR
17 Northern Ireland
18 Netherlands
19 Cote d'Ivoire
20 Cyprus
21 South Sudan
22 Japan
23 Gibraltar
24 Slovakia
25 Czech Republic
26 Denmark
27 Moldova
28 Panama
29 Puerto Rico
30 Guyana
Now let's talk about the girls who are among our Top 20 contenders, starting with the ones on the bottom half of the elite group.
We love Cyprus ever since she was announced as her country designated delegate fr this pageant. But we initially assume the weak sash factor would likely make her ignored. It is nice to see this Ximena Navarette look-alike (she looks like an edgier version of Miss Universe 2010 in several pictures) enlisted among Top Model finalists. A well deserved placement and we hope to see her in The Final 20 tonight.
Cote d'Ivoire is a statuesque Queen whom we initially thought will give Ghana a tough competition for Queen of Africa title. Now it seems that Cameroon has taken over her position as Ghana's possible upsurper but this girl is still a force to reckon with and we think her chance to place is still wide open.
Netherlands is the winner of the Sports competition, and while she may have not been as successful in other competitions, the point she earns as a winner of an event may catapult her into top placement.
Traditionally there are always one or two British girls that make it to the final list in Miss World. This year the battle seems to be among Northern Ireland and England. In our personal taste, Northern Ireland is facially prettier than her British rival but in the terms of performance she was outperformed, which is why we put her in a lower rank than England.
Recently there's a tradition (or rather a curse) that the winner of the previous Miss World edition will get unplaced in the upcoming edition, but we think with such a strong contestant, China PR may break the curse this year. She may have not made a lot of buzz aside from making it as a Beach Fashion finalist, but she is undeniably a very attractive girl and beauty-wise deserves a top placement.
We almost lose hope on her when until the near end of competition, United States has not made any impact in the any events. But she made a huge comeback in the Top Model event when she took the silver medal for the event. We think it is a worthy consolation for her unjustly exclusion from Beach Fashion shortlist.
Beauty with a Purpose event is the most important event in Miss World, and being the winner of the event this year, Nepal will likely secure an enough amount of points to finally place this time. She is such a sweet and charismatic girl with a great dedication towards humanitarian cause, but frankly, if only she had not won
Beauty with a Purpose, we would have not considered her as part of our list.
Just when we thought the game is over for her, India is back with a bang in the injury time of the competition. She won Multimedia event and made the final list of Beauty with a Purpose event. Add to her advantage is her country strong sash in Miss World and her strong communication skill.
Caribbean countries has not made a lot of buzz this year and the only one that we see will make the final list is Jamaica. A powerhouse at Miss World plus a fourth place in Beach Fashion will certinly work for her favor.
On the top of this bottom half list is a debut country Cameroon. She has stolen our heart since the Press Conference with her strong and effective communication skill and she has performed so well in several Challenge Events. Though it may not be enough to dethrone Ghana from Queen of Africa title, that should be enough to give a deserving first ever placement for her country.
Next let's move on to the Top 10 contenders, all of them have performed extremely this past month well to earn this ultimate spots.
Like we said before, traditionally there are always one or two British girls that make it to the final list in this pageant. As the British girl with the best overall record of all events, England should be, unsurprisingly, among the top placers this year.
A silver medalist for two events, Australia is getting closer to make a consecutive placement at this pageant. This country has fielded strong contestants recently, and this year it sends a girl who is not only beautiful outside but also super fun and friendly inside. She is one of our sentimental fave and we certainly wish she will make it tonight.
The biggest darkhorse of the competition. While we have considered her as a possible contender before, we never expect Italy to perform this well prior to the contest. It is certainly a pleasant surprise for us.
Beauty-wise, she deserves to be in Final 5 or even the winner, but his year competition is just too competitive and so far she has not performed as well as her major competitors. Spain started this competition strong but seems to lose her spark nearing the end, especially when she missed the critical spot of Top Model finalist. Still there are other important factors in this competition aside from Challenge Events, so she may make up fro that.
The best delegate ever sent from her country in years. This charismatic and sunny girl seems to be destinied to be the Queen of Africa this year. But will Ghana claim more than just a continental title? At this point we honestly still don't see her to repeat Agbani Darego feat, but everything may change in the final competition tonight.
Being a host country may help her a bit. But to her defense, Indonesia also have collected some merits on her own to earn a place in Final 5. Her most notable weapon, operatic skills has earned her the top spot on Talent event and we expect her to give a good perforance too in interview, knowing that her Organization has always prepared their girls with a strong focus on communication skill.
One of the Big Four country this year, France is almost a sure lock for Final 5 placement. She is also one of the only four girls that we predict shouldend up with the crown tonight. However compared to the other Big Four, we think she has the slimmest chance to win and therefore we only placed her in fourth place.
The face of the competition! Overall Ukraine has collected a lot of good result in various events, but compared to her two biggest competitor, she lacks something. The other two has earned a top spot on a particular event, while she does not. Still this fairy tale princess has a secret weapon - her facial beauty - which really suits Miss World taste of demure and angleic beauty. We put her in third place fornow but won't be surprised to see her on the top spot tonight.
Now for the clash of the Titans we have Beach Fashion winner Brazil versus Top Model winner Philippines. Many fans, including us believe they will end up as Top 2 tonight. On one side, Brazil has advantage as she has made the final list of the most important event in the pageant, Beauty with a Purpose. While Philippines seems to be loved by the Organization as she was among the ones picked to speak in the Press Conference and also to perform in Dance of The World. Both are ultra gorgeous and ultra strong and we really have a headache to pick one of them as the winner. But in the end we think Brazil will end up victorious. Her Organization has made a stronger aproach to Miss World since 2006, which includes their invitation to Miss World 2012 Wenxia Yu as honor guest at their national final. Plus Brazil will host World Cup next year and just like in 2007 when China PR won a year before it hosted Olympics, this time Brazil will likely win a year before it hosts World Cup.
Stay tuned in just several hours we will find out who is Miss World 2013!
Banner by : Yutha Diantra
Photos courtesy of : Miss World Organization
Photos courtesy of : Miss World Organization
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