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Colombia is best performer in Big 5 pageants, but PH remains a powerhouse – Missosology

by Jericho Zafra

PUBLISHED ON February 7, 2023

DESPITE hailing Colombia the best performer in Big five pageants in 2022, the Philippines remain a powerhouse country in the competitions, according to pageant analyst Missosology.

The big five pageants are Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss World, Miss Earth, and Miss Supranational.

According to the Missosology, Colombia had a “solid year” even if it didn’t win any major crowns in the big five pageants.

Big 5 frontrunner

In each of the five most prominent international pageants, Colombia competed and advanced to the semifinals. Missosology said it correctly predicted the victory of a Colombian contestant in two of these competitions.

Colombia’s Andrea Aguilera came out on top in the final Hot Picks for Miss Earth 2022, and was eventually crowned Miss Earth-Fire. Valentina Espinosa was projected to take home the crown in Miss Supranational 2022, and landed in the top 12.

“Our beauty experts may have overestimated their placements, but this tells us a lot about the strengths of Colombian representatives in 2022,” Missosology said in its report.

Colombia also finished third runner-up in the Miss International pageant where the Philippines’ Hannah Arnold concluded her journey as a top 15 finalist.

For the Miss Universe pageant, Colombia and the Philippines were among the frontrunners, but only Colombia made it to the top 16 while the Philippines failed to secure a slot in the finals.

PH beauties still powerful

Although Colombia has been recognized as the top placer in these pageants, the Philippines has maintained its powerhouse status.

For the past ten years, only the Philippines has been named by Missosology as its best performer in the big five pageants four times.

In the years 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016, the Philippines clinched the spot for top placers in the major international pageant competitions since 2010, it said.

The Philippines is followed by Venezuela, with three years of best-performing country placement.

The winning streak

Since 2010, the Philippines has been recognized as a major contender in the big five pageants. This was after Venus Raj ended the decade-long drought for a place in the finals in the most-coveted competition, as she placed fourth runner up. Since then, the country, along with Colombia, has been competing closely to bring home the most prestigious crowns in the world of pageantry.

2015 face off

In 2015, Colombia and the Philippines had been Missosology’s top contenders for the Miss Universe crown. Colombia was initially announced as the winner at the end of the pageant, filling the Zappos Theater in Las Vegas Nevada with loud cheers from the Latin community after Paulina Vega crowned her fellow Colombian Ariadna Gutierrez.

But there was a twist. Host Steve Harvey came out to say he made a mistaken and that the real winner was the Philippines’ Alonzo-Wurtzbach.