MISS Philippines Rachel Peters finished in the Top 10 of the 2017 Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada last Sunday night (Monday morning in the Philippines).
But another Peters – Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters – of South Africa was crowned 2017 Miss Universe from the field of 92 contestants.
Demi-Leigh is the second Miss Universe from South Africa in the 66-year-history of the prestigious beauty contest.
The last time a South African beauty won the title was 39 years ago when Margaret Gardiner won the title in 1978.
Demi-Leigh has been one of the favorite candidates to win the crown since the candidates arrived in Las Vegas for the competition.
She even topped gambling portals from around the world as bettors placed their money on her, along with candidates from Thailand, Colombia, and the Philippines.
First-runner up honors went to Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez and Miss Jamaica Davina Benette, 2nd runner-up.
In the first round of elimination, the top 4 candidates in each of the four categories – Asia and Africa, Europe, Americas; and Wild Card – were announced for the Top 16 semi-finalists.
For Asia and Africa, the semi-finalists were candidates from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, and South Africa; Europe:
Spain, Ireland, Croatia, and Great Britain; Americas: Colombia, USA, Brazil, and Canada; and Wild Card: Philippines, Venezuela, Jamaica, and China.
After the Top 16 paraded in swimsuits, the delegates were narrowed down to 10. The Top 10 were candidates from Venezuela, USA, Philippines, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, and Jamaica.
The Top 5 candidates, after the Evening Gown competition, were: South Africa, Venezuela, Thailand, Jamaica, and Colombia.
Miss Japan Momoko Abe won the Best in National Costume award.
Pageant fans around the world became the seventh judge of the 2017 Miss Universe pageant as they cast votes during the selection of Top 16 semi-finalists, and Swimsuit and Evening Gown competitions.
Great job
Gines Baja Enriquez of the Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc., which sends Philippine delegates to competitions abroad, said that Peters did a great job during the finals.
“We did a great job! At the end of the day, it’s really the judges pick. Mrs. Araneta prepared Rachel well. It was a great experience for her because she made a lot of friends. We will continue to learn from the winners and will keep on doing our best,” said Enriquez.
Several media men also reacted to the Top 10 finish of the Bicolana beauty queen and why she did advance further.
“Perhaps because the judges preferred either Colombia or Jamaica over her,” said Norman Tinio, of normannorman.com, a popular website on beauty pageants.
“Perhaps she was not what the judges were looking for, and she was overshadowed by the ones who showed personality.
The others’ background were quite impressive, too! And the program highlighted this aspect of the delegates through the videos that were presented,” commented Armin Adina, a pageant expert from a major newspaper.
Miss Universe 2017 Christmas Tour
The winners of the 2016 and 2017 Miss Universe beauty pageants are expected to participate in the Miss Universe 2017 Christmas Tour which will take place in Manila beginning Dec. 6.
The event, which is reportedly being organized by the Department of Tourism, will include activities such as meet-and-greet for the press, fashion show and gala night.
Sources said that the final activities for the Miss Universe Christmas Tour are expected to be announced in the coming days.
