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Main >> News Listing >> June 2004 >> Article ID 5014
 First the World, then the Universe | Type: Internet Article |
| | First the World, then the Universe | Jun 01, 2004 |
SINGAPORE : Those life-affirming lines from Christina Aguilera's song Beautiful — "I am beautiful, no matter what they say …" — could well be the mantra of some of this year's Miss Universe pageant hopefuls.
For what is unique about this year's pageant in Quito, Ecuador — which airs live tomorrow at 9am on StarHub Cable TV Channel 18 and at 10pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5 — is the number of Miss World losers competing for a second chance at a coveted crown.
No less than six of this year's contestants represented their countries in the rival pageant, and one — Miss Aruba Zizi Lee — placed second in the 2001 Miss World pageant.
Two of the hot favourites for the 2004 Miss Universe crown are Miss World also-rans — Miss Ukraine Oleksandra Nikolayenko and Miss Norway Katrine Sorland. Miss Ukraine was in the Top 10 in the Miss World 2001 pageant — the one in which Miss Aruba was first runner-up — while Miss Norway was third runner-up in 2002.
Some pageant analysts have attributed this phenomenon to the fact that the Miss Universe pageant — which is owned by Donald Trump and NBC — is a more prestigious pageant than the Julia Morley-run Miss World.
The sleekly-produced Miss Universe pageant has American big bucks and corporate icons behind it. It opens doors to the lucrative US market for its winners.
Current titleholder Amelia Vega has appeared on NBC's Spanish language affiliate network as an actress, while 2002 winner Justine Pasek is making a name for herself on New York's catwalks.
In contrast, the politics-ridden Miss World does not appear to do much for its sash wearers. A case in point is reigning Miss World Rosanna Davison of Ireland who, despite her title and famous dad (pop singer Chris De Burgh), has all but disappeared from the limelight.
The judges in this year's pageant — including American Idol's Paula Abdul and Bo Derek — have their work cut out for them.
Pageant pundits generally agree that the Miss World veterans have improved since their first appearances on the world stage. Going on merit, Miss Ukraine and Miss Norway do deserve their hot favourite status.
But going against them is the fact the very-competitive Donald Trump will not want his precious Miss Universe crown going to one of bitter-rival Julia Morley's also-rans.
Our own local hope, Miss Singapore Sandy Chua, has never looked better.
In pictures coming out of Ecuador, the engineering undergraduate exudes a confidence belying her 19 years.
Indeed, in an interview with Today a couple of weeks ago, Sandy said she was upset with unflattering photos of her on the Internet and vowed to surprise everyone in Ecuador.
Whatever happens, Sandy, like everyone else, is a winner. They're all beautiful, no matter what they say ... |
 Source: Channel News Asia | |
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