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Credicard Hall
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Leila Lopes of Angola being crowned Miss Universe 2011 by last year's winner Ximena Navarrete.
The dust has settled a bit after Miss Angola LEILA LULIANA DA COSTA VIEIRA LOPES nailed a glorious achievement by winning the Miss Universe 2011 crown – the 60th in a long line of titleholders from the 1950s to the present. She surpassed the competition from 88 equally stunning ladies during the worldwide telecast of the biggest global pageant from Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Last two women standing: Olesya Stefanko of Ukraine (L) and Leila Lopes of Angola (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Miss Universe 2011 Top 5 (L-R) Leila Lopes of Angola, Priscila Machado of Brazil, Zilin Luo of China, Shamcey Supsup of the Philippines and Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine. (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Leila Lopes getting sashed as Miss Universe 2011 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Miss Universe 2011: Miss Angola LEILA LULIANA DA COSTA VIEIRA LOPES
1st Runner-Up: Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko
2nd Runner-Up: Miss Brazil Priscila Machado
3rd Runner-Up: Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup
4th Runner-Up: Miss China Zilin Luo
Miss Universe 2011 Top 10 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Rest of Top 10 Semifinalists:
Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs
Miss Costa Rica Johanna Solano
Miss France Laury Thilleman
Miss Panama Sheldry Saez
Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez
Rest of Top 16 Quarterfinalists:
Miss Colombia Catalina Robayo
Miss Kosovo Aferdita Dreshaj
Miss Netherlands Kelly Weekers
Miss Puerto Rico Viviana Ortiz
Miss USA Alyssa Campanella
Miss Venezuela Vanessa Goncalves
Board of Judges:
Adrienne Maloof / Amelia Vega
Connie Chung / Farouk Shami
Helio Castroneves / Isabelli Fontana
Italo Zanzi / Lea Salonga
Vivica Fox / Ana Paula Junqueira
Miss China Zilin Luo being awarded 4th Runner-Up...she wasn't pleased. (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup after she was called to the Top 5 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes (back to the camera) being hugged and swarmed by all the delegates (Photo credit: Fotoarena)
Congratulations to all the winners! But most of all, our warm felicitations to my girl Shamcey Supsup for placing 4th and to Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011!
In less than 24 hours from now, Miss Universe 2011 will be crowned. At this point, I’m putting my name at stake with this Final Five prediction for Miss Universe 2011. But where’s the fun of armchair-judging if I don’t go this far in projecting a winner? Anyways, I am listing down these ladies with due consideration given to the internal politics, lobbying and the like that is not at all unusual with Donald Trump’s pageant.
It warms my heart to wish for an Asian domination this year, like what happened way back in 1988. Hopefully, it will take place again with 3 of the Final 5 coming from this region. With a 16-10-5 set-up, my Final 5, in alphabetical order, are:
Miss China Zilin Luo
Miss Greece Iliana Papageorgiou
Miss Malaysia Deborah Priya Henry
Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup
Miss Ukraine Olesya Stefanko
Oh how I will rejoice if these five ladies make up the Final 5 cast in the actual results! Of course, I’d like to see Miss Philippines win the whole thing, but I would be glad to see Miss Malaysia get the title as well. But if Miss China ends up as the victor, I’ll just take consolation from the fact that Asia has a new Miss Universe.
Now if nobody among the Asians take it all the way, anyone among Miss Greece and Miss Ukraine would make outstanding queens.
Over and above these predictions, I am hoping for a fabulously breath-taking finale at Credicard Hall. If you want to catch it on the web, you can watch it over at Livestream. š
courtesy of OPMBtv
The Miss Universe 2011 preliminaries are over. The Top 15 have already been chosen by the judges. Between now and September 12 stands an agonizing wait on who will come out successful in all three rounds of judging.
As for Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup, I believe that she firmly held her own against the 88 other ladies. Her Evening Gown performance was both fluid and elegant. The Barraza original fitted her body like a glove as she worked it with shimmering delight. In the Swimsuit category, she owned the stage of Credicard Hall with a strut both fierce and playful. Confidence is overflowing so to speak.
Through it all, her face registered with a telegenic (and photogenic) appeal that is at first charming, then tastefully seductive.
By now, we all have our solid favorites. Shamcey is definitely in my Top 5 along with the delegates from Greece, Kosovo, Malaysia and Panama.
Would love to see yours! š
P.S. Many thanks to Bruce Casanova of OPMB Worldwide for sharing the video and pics above!
Miss Argentina Natalia Rodriguez Miss Aruba Gillain Berry Miss Czech Republic Jitka Novackova Miss Malaysia Deborah Henry Miss Nicaragua Adriana Dorn Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup Miss Cayman Islands Cristin Alexander Miss Curacao Evalina Van Patten
The Miss Universe 2011 National Costume Presentation was pre-taped at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo. Just when everyone thought that this segment was removed, the organizers must have realized its utmost importance. Just imagine the high cost of coming up with one and air-transporting the same to the host country only to be wasted inside the luggage. Good thing that things are falling into place despite it being some sort of a last-minute insert in the ladies’ crazy schedule.
The photos above are courtesy of Fotoarena.
Clicking on the logo above will lead you straight to the livestream site
At around 7:00-8:00 (Manila time) this morning, the Preliminaries of Miss Universe 2011 will commence live from Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If you want to watch the whole show online, then you’d better make sure you have stable internet connection and head to Livestream where you can witness the performance of the 89 delegates in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. The personality interviews are now over and done with so 1/3 of the scores have been logged in.
Who do I expect to perform well in the Preliminaries? Well, a lot. And I mean practically all of the contenders want to win the crown so they will definitely step up to the plate and put their best foot (and turns and poses) forward.
Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup is a favorite for the crown going into the preliminaries.
Of course, it goes without saying that the Latinas will lead the charge this year, as usual. Miss Venezuela Vanessa Goncalves, Miss Panama Sheldry Saez and Miss Nicaragua Adriana Dorn are just a few of the fiery ladies who will light up the stage and aim for high scores all around. And the Europeans won’t take the competition lightly. A string of fierce performers could come from the continent, such as Miss Spain Paula Guillo, Miss Kosovo Aferdita Dreshaj, Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez and Miss Netherlands Kelly Weekers.
Miss Malaysia Deborah Henry is another favorite in Sao Paulo.
And then, there are the consistently performing ladies from the Caribbean like Miss Aruba Gillain Berry, Miss Puerto Rico Viviana Ortiz and Miss Bahamas Anastagia Pierre. Coming close as well are Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, Miss Angola Leila Lopes and Miss Israel Kim Edri. Lest we forget, the host delegate Priscila Machado is no wallflower. She will definitely work it out and impress everyone, not just because she is Miss Brazil.
It is also possible that ladies who made excellent turns during their personality interviews (held the past two days) will remain strong in the memory of the judges who just might award them with high grades in swimsuit and evening gown.
All in all, this is a particularly strong batch. Let’s wish them luck in the preliminaries! š
Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup in her Santacruzan-inspired National Costume. (Photo credit: Missosology)
After a long wait, the National Costume of Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup was finally unveiled during the taping at Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo. At first, you might find it surprising why she is wearing a crown while dressed in a Maria Clara top paired with a long gold skirt with seaweed-like (or butterflies if you prefer) designs. Well, after initial analysis, my hunch is that the inspiration comes from the annual Santacruzan that the country celebrates during the month of May. She could be a representation of the Reyna Elena instead of what others would interpret as Sto. Nino.
A little more upclose this time (Photocredit: Missosology)
Reactions are mixed, but still predominantly positive. I have yet to see how the whole thing flows while Shamcey walks onstage, but I think it makes her look regal.
Your thoughts? š
courtesy of VisitBrasil
Cathedral of SĆ£o Paulo - considered as the 4th largest Neo-Gothic Cathedral in the World.
Ibirapuera Park in SĆ£o Paulo with the city's skyline in the distance. Since the Miss Universe 2011 beauties will start arriving in Sao Paulo this coming August 21 (that’s already very close!), I thought it best to blog about the host city for those who want to know a bit more about the place. 
With a population numbering around 20 million, Sao Paulo is easily the largest (and the richest) city in Brazil. It is also an important commercial and financial hub in the whole of South America, aside from having one of the most diverse ethnicities anywhere in the world.
Must-see tourist sites include Ibirapuera Park, Avenida Paulista and the Cathedral of Sao Paulo. If you’re interested in going around and beyond the fringes of the city, you should include visits to Bixiga (Little Italy), Liberdade (Little Chinatown that actually looks more like a Little Asia), Itaim Bibi, Vila Madalena and Pinheiros. if you want to know more, visit the official tourism website by clicking HERE.
Accommodations-wise, check out your options (with helpful reviews) with Tripadvisor so you can plan your budget and walking-around money. I’m sure you’ll find one that rightly fits the bill.
The city is usually cold and dry during the winter season months from June-August, but the temperature is going to be unusually hot once close to a hundred gorgeous beauties from around the world fire up its streets and sights for the annual celebration of beauty that is Miss Universe 2011.
The ladies competing this year will undoubtedly have a grand carnival time of their lives in Sao Paulo, as they will be treated with the warm hospitality of its people. I can already imagine the wide variety of fun activities they’ll be doing, including a Ricky Martin concert.
Credicard Hall - venue of the 2011 Miss Universe finals Watch out for this blog once I begin posting regular updates about Miss Universe 2011 in Sao Paulo starting next week up to a couple of days after the 12th of September when we shall have already known who the crowned winner will be. 
Bem-vindos a SĆ£o Paulo! š
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