Miss World 2003 Reviews

The opening ceremony was both very lively and Oriental

Miss World 2003, undeniably, is the best beauty pageant ever. Forgive the exaggeration but it is true. The opening ceremony is at its best showing what China has to offer the world. I love the martial arts theme coupled with the lively drums and very Oriental music. After the explosive opening, out came the 100 plus Miss World contestant wearing Chinese-inspired gowns. The music is definitely Asian and I love the way the ladies did their stage walk. It may be simple but it was lovely and sexy. I love the presenters Phil Keoghan (who may not be as hilarious as Jerry but absolutely not as lousy as Sean) and Amanda Byram. Angela Chiao joined them onstage and I love the trio! Amanda? accent is absolutely lovely and I like her stage presence. Angela on the other hand, juggled English and Chinese with ease to the delight of the home crowd. Angela is absolutely a pro in the TV industry. She has spontaneity and alertness. The entire show is a tug-of-war between Miss World itself and the shows in between segments. Among the most eye-catching is the "Silk in Heavens" show by the Wuhan Acrobatic Group. It was a circus like event where a couple did some acrobatic tricks by simply clinging to silk cloths. The presentation of delegates in their evening gown was excellent. Stand-outs include Misses Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines and Peru. Ethnic inspired dresses gave us mixed feelings. China's red number is half-way between being good or bad. Nepal's costume is too "national costume" to be recognized as gown. Vietnam? piece is exotic while Korea's attempt to win the best dress that night failed. Peru aced this segment though. She was hailed as the one with best gown and gave her an automatic semi-finals slot. Speaking of which, this system obviously reduced the excitement of the show. There are sex women who basically made a short-cut into the top twenty. They include Miss Ireland Rosanna Davison for winning the Beach beauty award, Miss Canada Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Miss Georgia Irina Onashvili for winning the TopTalent (she sang by the way), Miss Bolivia Helen Aponte for winning the Miss Personality contest and Miss Australia Olivia Stratton for winning the People's Choice award (a popularity contest run at www.missworld.org) Here a comparison of the official results and our predictions:

Results Winner: Miss Ireland - Rosanna Davison 1st runner-up: Miss Canada - Nazanin Afsin-Jam 2nd runner-up: Miss China - Guan Qi Finalists: Miss India - Ami Vashi Miss Philippines - Ma. Rafaela Verdadero-Yunon Semifinalists: Miss Bolivia - Helen Aponte Miss Georgia - Irina Onashvili Miss Australia - Olivia Stratton Miss New Zealand - Melanie Paul Miss Peru - Claudia Hernandez Miss Jamaica - Jade Fulford Miss Venezuela - Valentina Patruno Miss Norway - Elisabeth Wathne Miss Ethiopia - Hayat Mohammed Miss Puerto Rico - Joyceline Montero Miss Dominican Republic - Maria Eugenia Vargas Miss Lebanon - Marie-Jose Hnein Miss Switzerland - Bianca Sissing Miss Greece - Vasiliki Tsekoura Miss Trinidad & Tobago - Magdalene Walcott

Predictions Winner: Miss India - Ami Vashi* 1st runner-up: Miss Peru - Claudia Hernandez* 2nd runner-up: Miss Venezuela - Valentina Patruno* Finalists: Miss South Africa - Cindy Nell Miss Ireland - Rosanna Davison* Semifinalists: Miss Australia - Olivia Stratton* Miss Bolivia - Helen Aponte* Miss Turkey - Kadriye Tugba Miss Philippines - Ma. Rafaela Verdadero-Yunon* Miss Puerto Rico - Jocelyn Montero* Miss China - Guan Qi* Miss Malta - Rachel Xuereb Miss Canada - Nazanin Afsin-Jam* Miss Poland - Karolina Gorazda Miss Switzerland - Bianca Sissing* Miss Mexico -Erika Garcia Miss Georgia - Irina Onashvili* Miss USA - Kimberley Harlan Miss Jamaica - Jade Fulford* Miss Brazil - Lara Andressa de Brito

As you can observe, we predicted 13 out 20 semi-finalists. Interesting that Ireland switched position with India while conspicuously absent is South Africa. We calculated that Turkey would enjoy the benefit of the law of momentum but we are wrong this time around. Malta, Poland, Mexico and Brazil were overvalued and we hate to see USA not making it. We failed to see the stars in New Zealand, Ethiopia and Greece. We have some small suspicion that Dominican Republic will eventually make it while Trinidad and Tobago is a very special surprise.

One of the biggest surprises this year is the new format. The 20 semi-finalists were first selected. Then a video diary of each semi-finalist was shown. Most of the clips shown were the activities they underwent in Sanya. After of which, the top five were called! Some of the highlights: 1. I love China for playing a wonderful host. I think she has shown great hospitality in a true Asian fashion. 2. Australia is beautiful but I wonder why she walked like that. I was very awkward and rather tomboyish. Her short hair didn't help. 3. I like New Zealand's video diary along with Miss Philippines, Norway, Canada, Ethiopia and Peru. 4. Georgia's video diary is the worst. She forced herself to speak English when she knows very well that she can't do it well. 5. Venezuela may think that it's funny to say "Venezuela won the Miss World crown 5 times. Maybe, it's time to get back, don't you think?" but it didn't play with judges quite well. 6. Dominican Republic displayed looks, body and personality not far from Amelia Vega.

Silk or/from (not sure which is which) the Heavens

If I were to choose the top five I would choose New Zealand, the Philippines, Canada, Norway and Peru. Obviously, the video diary is not the only basis by which the finalists were drawn. The chosen ones were: the Philippines, India, China, Canada and Ireland. Philippines scored well for her vibrant personality and admitably, she did well in her video diary. India is okay but I think there are more semi-finalists that are way better than her. China is an obvious choice but in fairness she did well. Canada I think is a front-runner. She is beautiful, sexy and intellegent. Ireland's asset lies on her looks and sweet personality.

The top 3

The final interview came and each delegate were asked with seperate question. Philippines was first asked and I think she missed some points of the question. India gave a rather lengthly answer and I really wonder why is that so when Indians are known for their intellegence. The wholeness of her answer seems to be beating around the bush. China did well and while she exceeded to the allotted time, she was given a chance to add something in her answer. Canada did well too and she gave an excellent answer. Ireland gave a regular reply but she is the one who displayed spontaniety and relatively is she the most confident of the five. And so, China finished as second runner-up with Canada as first and Ireland the new Miss World. It was absolutely an history in the making. It was the first time that China hosted a major pageant, it was the first time that Ireland won a major crown and it was the best pageant show ever held in face of the world.

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