Before the Preliminaries of the 71st Miss Universe unfold in New Orleans, Louisiana, allow me to share the ladies I expect to deliver in both the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. Instead of ranking them according to my personal preference, I opted to present them in alphabetical order first before making any Final Predictions earlier during the weekend:
Evlin Khalifa – Bahrain
Mia Mamede – Brazil
Manita Hang – Cambodia
Sofia Depassier – Chile
Maria Fernanda Aristizabal – Colombia
Gabriela Dos Santos – Curacao
Ivana Batchelor – Guatemala
Hrafnhildur Haraldsdóttir – Iceland
Virginia Stablum – Italy
Alessia Rovegno – Peru
Celeste Cortesi – Philippines
Telma Madeira – Portugal
Ashley Cariño – Puerto Rico
Ndavi Nokeri – South Africa
Alicia Faubel – Spain
Anna Sueangam-Iam – Thailand
Viktoria Apanasenko – Ukraine
R’Bonney Gabriel – USA
Amanda Dudamel – Venezuela
Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Châu – Vietnam
Let’s see if all of the ladies above deliver. And then, I can give a more confident assessment of their chances of getting within striking distance of destiny, i.e. the Miss Universe crown. Or perhaps, give a chance to others who deserve to be up there among those unmentioned.
Where to watch the Preliminaries and National Costume Competition?
Here’s all the streaming info you need for the 71st Miss Universe Preliminary Competition and National Costume Competition. Just remember these times:
January 11 | 7pm CST is January 12 | 9AM (Philippine time)
January 11 | 9pm CST is January 12 | 11AM (Philippine time)
#71stMissUniverse
#MissUniverse
#preliminaries
#NationalCostumeCompetition
normannorman.com 
Why no Republica Dominicana?
Majority of the Prelim Judges are American including a white jew which gives Miss USA a huge advantage..
Half were Hispanic/Latino including Mexican/Cuban/Afro-Caribean
2 Asians- An Indian & Filipina-American
Based on those Judges here is my TOP 20
In random order:
USA
PHILIPPINES
PUERTO RICO
VENEZUELA
ITALY
THAILAND
SOUTH AFRICA
INDIA
SPAIN
COLOMBIA
BRAZIL
PERU
GUATEMALA
MEXICO
UKRAINE
CAMBODIA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
INDONESIA
CURACAO
JAMAICA/ARUBA
I forgot to mention that at least 2 of the judges have African Ancestry..
I’m replacing Indonesia with Vietnam…
I forgot that Indonesia is against Israel and one of the judges is a Jew..
And maybe replace Jamaica/Aruba with Portugal or by another African country..
So who among these frontrunners are actual or potential transformational leader? The new owner just outlined what MU is primarily looking for– not the look, not the walk, not the talk, but the brains that can turn lofty thoughts into practical action. A radical paradigm shift on beauty? No, this is the mantra of the Millennials and GenZs– real “walk the talk” on diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, environmental justice, gender equality, etc, etc.
Who then embodies the new MU tagline “beautifully confident” and not the old tagline “confidently beautiful”? Who deserves to wear the Force for Good crown?
MUO should not only look for someone who is beautifully confident, but someone who is confidently beautiful as well to be able to crown someone who is undoubtedly a total package and leave us all in awe.
I hope nobody in the final Q&A says or quotes “beautifully confident with a heart” ( Pia copycat , and it will sound redundant because beautifully confident already implies you are doing it with a passionate heart)
… only change I will make is ARUBA instead of Brazil … but then again, Brazil is such a scene stealer while Aruba is demurely powerful …
Brazil is such an excellent speaker
yes she is … for me , MY SPOLIERS ARE : Brazil & India
(spoilers are the ones who can snatch away a slot in the semifinals from among those who are very top favorites for the crown)
but there are news circulating that there will be top 15 + 1 internet vote = top 16 instead of a top 20 … which one is it ?
good selections above
Yes, that could be true. I just assembled 20 ladies above to include the ones who are bubbling up in my eyes.