Forget that Marc Nelson is always caught "offguard" by the cameras or that messed-up Spanish interpreter terribly botching Miss Colombia's answers and had the audience jeering. Forget that the lady commentators Pia Guanio and Bianca Araneta have to read most of the time from cue cards. Forget that the show was thirty minutes late or that the average scores were first flashed with wrong figures (think about if it continued to be that way till the real final scoring and we'll have a Florida here!) The thing that we have to say here is that the pageant dramatically improved from its first stint last year and any mishaps can be sufficiently compensated by the lovely ladies and by the excitement that the pageant gave.

Just like last year, the panel of judges was dominated by Filipinos and by executives by the sponsoring companies. While we do not question their judging capabilities, it would really raise the prestige of Miss Earth if the panel of judges consists of celebrities, past beauty queens or famous personas in the fashion industry.

The opening video was lovely. It is perhaps the best part of the entire show. In the video, each delegate spoke inspiring lines about the environment and I love Catharina Svensson doing the part saying "This is our belief, this is our stand". Wonderful!

Then we were brought onstage were the delegates were presented in their National Costumes with a very lively song but it was pretty dull and I can pinpoint the reason: there is no booming voice-over. It would really help if somebody is announcing what is going on like, "Presenting the ladies from Asia...." and so on.

Miss Chile Nazhla Abad smiles after being proclaimed Miss Avon Colors of Beauty

After this segment, we were introduced to the host of the evening: Marc Nelson. Marc has a real American twang although I heard he's from Australia. What peeves me a little though is that he had a hard time speaking Filipino phrases. Generally did a passable job but I know Marc is more exposed in pre-edited program shows and documentaries and not on live TV hosting. He could be forgiven for his shortcomings and there is always a room for improvement next year (that is if he will still be Carousel's and ABS-CBN's pick).

Miss Korea was formally presented with the Best in National Costume Award although we already knew it days earlier. The pageant moved on to the swimsuit presentation. TV viewers were treated with clips from the beaches in Palawan and Cebu while those in the theater actually saw the delegates parading in their swimwear onstage. After that, Miss Colombia was formally awarded with Best Swimwear Award ---- at backstage! I think awards should be presented on the front stage for everyone to see!

As always, Miss Earth is a heavily commercialized pageant. Sponsors and people behind the show were announced by several instances by the host and the commentators. Pia even had a punch line inserted in between her commentaries but well, this is how they earn their money.

After the swimsuit segment, some special awards were given. Miss Philippines took the Photogenic Award. Miss Gibraltar took the Miss Friendship title which is very much apt considering that she stood as the unofficial interpreter for Spanish speaking delegates. Miss Gibraltar's bi-lingual capability is rooted from the fact that her country, affectionately called as "the Rock", sits at the tip of Spain while under the British crown. An uncomfortable situation then occurred. Before being awarded with Best in Talent, Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina Dzejla Glavovic have to show her ballet routine! Well, if she's Miss Talent give her the award dum-dum and that's it. She needs not to perform again which makes her look rather silly. Poor Dzejla!

Rapper Francis Magalona performed the "Peace on Earth" song which is okay in some extent but not world class so to speak. The gown presentation was lovely. RJ Rosales gave a wonderful medley. I have to say that the delegates look absolutely fabulous in their gowns. While I've seen some exotic designs, one can collectively say that the wardrobes tonight were of excellent caliber! I think it could even surpass those that we saw at the Miss Universe and Miss International this year!

Another batch of special awards was given. Miss Chile took the Avon award. Miss Yugoslavia the Close-Up Smile. Miss Greece the Pond's Award and Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina took the Cream Silk Award. Last year, fans screamed of racial discrimation because of the Miss Ponds Super White Skin Award. Now it was changed to Super Radiant Skin (the one that Miss Greece took). However another "racist" award was given. This time it's the Miss Sunsilk Super Black Hair award which should have the ginger-heads and blondes screaming for fairness!

A medley song by the local young lads "The Hunks" had an informal setting that allowed the delegates to loosen up a bit. A thought though: EMINEM's "Cleaning Out My Closet" is barely appropriate in here. After that, Pia went backstage and she mentioned that the pageant is like a melting pot of cultures having several ladies with mixed blood. She mentioned that Miss Singapore and Miss Barbados have Indian blood. Also, Miss Greece, Australia and Canada have Filipino roots.

I love the announcement of the top ten semi-finalists. This is of course the most exciting part and I love how Marc kept the excitement rolling. Here's the top ten semi-finalists:

1. Miss Chile Nazhla Abad
2. Miss Finland Elina Hurve
3. Miss Yugoslavia Sladjana Bozovic
4. Miss Spain Cristina Carpintero
5. Miss Greece Juliana Drossou
6. Miss Peru Claudia Ortiz de Zevallos
7. Miss Kenya Winnie Adah Omwakwe
8. Miss Colombia Diana Patricia Botero
9. Miss Philippines April Ross Perez
10. Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina Dzejla Glavovic

Amazingly, we were able to net only four of the six finalists with our predicted winner Miss Czech Republic Apolena Tumova missing on the list. Pia asked for Miss Hungary and Miss Paraguay but I really don't think that these two delegates deserve any slot at the top ten. It would be great if Miss Albania or Miss Czech Republic is on the list. Surprises on the top ten include Miss Spain and Miss Kenya. I have some inkling that Spain will make it considering that they had been great performers last year. Miss Kenya is a beautiful surprise. I never had a chance to see her face before which is actually beautiful. Her photos did not really radiate her beauty well.

The segments that followed were similar on what they did last year. Clips of photos were shown for each finalist to describe and to give some comments. The first five were first called. Miss Chile Nazhla Abad bravely answered in English and she struggled. This is also similar to Miss Finland Elina Hurve who has a lot to grapple with the English grammar. It would have been a better situation if both of them opted to have an interpreter. Miss Yugoslavia Sladjana Bozovic showed her confidence when she called Marc by his first name. Her Miss Universe stint this year perhaps earned her that necessary tool. She was asked to describe the picture of a young girl looking at the faucet. She jabbed in some facts by saying that 5 million people died last year because of polluted water and it drew applause from the crowd. I tend to doubt her figures but Sladjana held this interview well. Miss Spain Juliana Carpintero is a little bit nervous. She speaks a little English but she opted to utilize her interpreter. Here is one of the best answers we heard. On the picture is a hand holding the picture of a mountain and beyond is the real mountain itself. Juliana described the photo with white snow and blue skies but the interpreter just said "blue and white backgrounds". This is where I began to spot the incapability of this Spanish interpreter. Last year, the interpreter was quick and very resourceful using a pen and paper to catch up with lengthy answers. Now all we have is an old, nervous stricken interpreter who botch up answers mercilessly. Anyway, Juliana proceeded on to say that if we will not take good care of Mother Earth, we will only be seeing these things only in pictures just like what the hand on the image is holding. An excellent answer that drew applause. Miss Greece Juliana Drossou described the picture of burning garbage as something like a futuristic movie. She went on saying that the Third World countries were used by Western ones as dump sites. She sees in the picture a man who searches food or clothing amid the burning rubbish while at the same time the "greedy" West is enjoying a lot of privileges at the same time throwing a lot of thrash. It was a wonderful insight that also drew applause.

The next five started with Miss Peru Claudia Ortiz Zevallos. She used the interpreter and she described all those smoke coming from the factories and she insisted that if the people have to work with their hearts our problems can be solved. Miss Kenya Winnie Adah Omakwe is one of the brilliant ladies. She said that the Philippines is far different from Kenya as her country doesn't have a big city like Manila. She described the leaves with a tree on the background as something that we should preserve. She said that trees were cut down to make room for cities. Trees are our source of life, she said and the audience just love her. Indeed, Winnie showed that she has a lot of class tonight. Miss Colombia Diana Patricia Botero is one poor lady whose answers were terribly botched up by the same interpreter that Miss Spain used. Although, it was not interpreted in the way it should, I would like to say that Miss Colombia's answers were just regular ones with no point to cheer with. The audience detected that the interpreter had significantly few sentences for the lengthy answers of Diana prompting Marc to say that it was "slightly para-phrased". Huh!?

Miss Philippines April Ross Perez sees air pollution amongst the canyons in the pictures. Well, I'm not so sure that I have to agree but April gave a good answer. Not a brilliant one but it was sufficient. Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina Dzejla Galvovic earned my and the audience hearts by saying that the animals have the same right to live here on earth with people and that for every tree that we cut we should be replacing ten. She really shined her in this interview but it was Miss Kenya who led the pack.

Top 10 Semi-Finalists flaunt their beautiful figures

The swimsuit segment followed with the ladies wearing similar one piece suit but has generous cut on the waist area. Miss Chile has an excellent body and she earned 86.2 for that. Miss Finland, who perhaps forgot to put pads on her breast area, has also a beautiful body and she carried well. Her simplicity in moves was great redeemed by her physique and she netted a 91.4 score. Miss Yugoslavia looked trim and fit but she earned a measly 83. Miss Spain has a model-like walk and she swung her hips and made great moves. I think she aced the movements but the judges were not so convinced. She earned 86.3.

Miss Peru is truly vivacious in walking and she did a lot of wonderful postures. The judges gave her an 89. Miss Kenya is a little opposite. She preferred demure walking and simple poses. Her score: 87.9.Miss Colombia showed her wares and tried to convince everyone that she deserves that Best in Swimsuit award. However the judges were not carried giving her a mere 81.1. Miss Philippines did a relatively slower walk and I think she deserves that 88.4 score. Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina wowed the judges with her nice body although she didn't do any fancy walks. Her wonderful performance made her the choice for this segment with 93.7.

Top 10 Semi-Finalists in superb designs dazzle the audience

In the evening gown, Miss Chile has a long train (not really that long) which she kept watch most of the time. She really don't want somebody stepping on it just like what happened to Miss India's gown which was stepped by Miss Hungary several times. It could have been disastrous if any of them tripped. Miss Finland's cloth reminds me of Miss Denmark but the similarity stops on the top. Miss Yugoslavia soft blue number with cloth wrapped in her neck is unique. I thought that she earned a very low score but it was that nasty glitch in the system that flashed the wrong score. I think that it has something to do with somebody in the panel of judges punching up late scores or it was simply that damn computers acting-up. Spain as always moves in a model-like manner which is for me refreshingly sexy. Her silver number is just beautiful. Miss Greece is lovely in black gown with silver accessories on the abdomen area. It was the sexy cut that dazzles me most.

Miss Peru showed on why she won the Best in Evening Gown award. Her blue gown with long train is indeed beautiful. Miss Kenya in pale blue with glitters showed off her sexy body. She carried it well and her trademark move is putting her hands in her front lap rather than on her hips which is truly unique. Miss Colombia with a choker looks stunning in white gown. An error occurred again in flashing that average score but was quickly rectified showing that Colombia earned a whooping 90.7. Miss Philippines in a blue-violet gown is amazing. She walks as if she is in the clouds and I can see imaginary glitters around her. I think that she stood out from the rest. Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina should be lovely in her black gown but she had that silly Vietnamese hat on her head. I don't know how she came up with that idea. I then sensed that should pose a problem should she went on to earn a crown. No one would dare put a crown on a hat, right? They knew it and they removed that silly hat later.

The top four were wonderful: Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and Kenya. Here, I can see that Miss Kenya has a very strong chance in winning the crown because she speaks the best English among the four.

The final question is: "Which has more significance in your life: the sunrise or the sunset?"

Miss Greece first answered the question while the remaining three had their ears covered with headphones. Greece seems to unable to decide which is which and decide to say that both are significant since they consist the 24-hour period. She said that without the sunset there will be no sunrise. She then deviated a little from the topic by conveying her concern for nature.

Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina replied "Of course sunrise!" and added that people tend to be romantic during sunrise describing it as something that symbolizes a new day and a new life. She concluded her answer by saying that its not about sunrise or sunset but about the environment and emphasized that we should "Stop talking. Start Acting."

Miss Yugoslavia loves sunrise because it reminds of a friend who had watched sunrise with her and eventually had an accident.

Miss Kenya chooses sunrise because we can look at a brighter day where we live better lives, breath fresh air and drink clean water.

I think that Kenya answered the best because she subtly called for environmental protection without going out from the clause of the question. This is unlike Bosnia and Herzegovina who clearly used the last part of her answer to call for people to preserve Mother Earth which as it seems diverted away from the question. But then Bosnia and Herzegovina gave also an excellent answer which in my opinion in par to what Miss Kenya gave.

Before they announced the winners, Miss Earth 2001 Catharina Svensson gave her final walk. She was so beautiful and radiant. I think that Catharina enjoyed her reign genuinely as she talked about how she carried out her duties with zeal.

The Loveliest on Earth

And now the winners:
Miss Earth-Fire Miss Greece Juliana Drossou
Miss Earth-Water Miss Yugoslavia Sladjana Bozovic
Miss Earth-Air Miss Miss Kenya Winnie Omwakwe
And the Miss Earth 2002 is Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina Dzejla Glovovic!

Congratulations! Till next year!