Hosts: Singer, Actor, and Host – Billy Crawford; Miss Intercontinental Japan 2017 – Kumi Miyamae; Miss Intercontinental Kenya National Director, Actress and Media Personality – Serah Ndanu; and TV Host and Actor – Hectot Gonzales.
Judges: Multi-time Emmy Award Winner, Actor, and Producer – Vincent De Paul; Actor and Director – Lorenzo Lamas; Award Winner and Successful Business Woman– Marilyn de Mesa; Miss Intercontinental 2010 – Maydelise Columna; Miss Intercontinental 2017 – Veronica Salas; President of Ultra V – Dr. Kwon Han Jin; Successful Entrepreneur and Mr. Gay World Philippines 2009 – Mr. Wilbert Tolentino; and CEO of Miss Intercontinental Japan – Joanna Leonisa Oqueria Gimena Miyamae.
On Saturday, January 26, 2019 the 47th edition of Miss Intercontinental took place. This edition of Miss Intercontinental was one of the most glamorous, high quality coronation nights of this pageant in recent years: the stage, lighting, sound – all of it was on point. The night began with prerecorded videos of the contestants popping up on the background and panels of the stage saying their home continent and speaking about the beauty of beauty; some of the phrases spoken, “beauty is power,” “beauty can inspire,” and “I am beautiful.” This showcased how everyone from different countries came together for one cause, how beauty is more than skin deep, and how it’s okay, and in fact great, that one recognizes their own beauty instead of only recognizing their “flaws” because our “flaws” are what makes us unique and beautiful.
Following the messages, the announcement of the countries participating was held. Each candidate was wearing their national costume to show the world a little bit of what their country entails. The announcer was calling the girls too fast at times which resulted in some of the girls not in their spot yet. You could also tell the stage was a little slippery because a handful of the girls slipped, but they did catch themselves and regain their balance. I thought the slipping would go on throughout the night, but that seemed to be the end of it; they probably slipped because they had to run to their spot on stage to try and catch up with the announcer.
The top 20 finalists were then announced by continent: Africa, Asia & Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America. This reminds me of how Miss Universe has been calling out their candidates lately; however, Miss Intercontinental did it differently by not having a limit per continent on the amount of candidates eligible to be in the finals and Billy (host) said the amount of girls for each continent that would be moving forward: two from Africa, six from Asia & Oceania, six from Europe, three from North America, and three from South America.
Top 20: Ethiopia, Ghana, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Paraguay, Colombia, and Ecuador.
The swimsuit portion came next, and the girls wore the same swimsuit they wore for the preliminary event. One thing in particular that I liked was how they showed the candidates backstage right before they walked out on stage because it showed us how relatable they all are. Some you could see were nervous, others confident from head-to-toe ready to rock it, and Germany and Netherlands were dancing up until they had to leave the sidelines and step on stage. For me, the best in swimsuit performances were Japan, Myanmar, Philippines, Slovak Republic, USA, Paraguay, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
The next portion of the competition was evening gown. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties with the Facebook live stream resulting in Facebook viewers not seeing a good chunk of the evening gown competition. We saw the girls from Africa, Asia & Oceania, Czech Republic, and Germany before it went out; we missed the rest of the girls from Europe, North America, and South America. Since I did not see every girl compete in this round, I can’t give you my full list of who I think performed best in evening gown competition, but from whom I did see I would say Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar did the best.
Traditionally, there would be a top 10 or top eight from here, but it went to a top six. The top six were not the standard top six. These six girls won the award of best in their continent and the sixth girl won People’s Choice. The top six and winners were:
Best in Africa: Ethiopia
Best in Asia & Oceania: Philippines
Best in Europe: Slovak Republic
Best in North America: Costa Rica
Best in South America: Colombia
People’s Choice: Vietnam
The Q&A was the final portion of the night. All the girls were asked the same question and noise canceling headphones were placed on the girls when one was up to give their answer so they couldn’t hear what the question was ahead of time. The question was, “How do you define success?” The candidate, in opinion, who gave the best answer was Philippines.
“Good evening Philippines! For me success is not just about winning in life, but setting goals – smaller goals – and achieving your dreams and working hard for everything you want and always looking up to God and being thankful for everything. For me, that is success.” – Karen Gallman
Keith Tines was the musical performer of the night and sang while the girls did their final look.
Miss Intercontinental 2017 Veronica Salas soon came after to do her final walk as the reigning Miss Intercontinental.
Along with the runners-up and winner of the competition, there were special awards given out.
Ultra V Award Winner: Myanmar
Social Media Star: Indonesia
Photogenic: Argentina
Miss Congeniality: Panama
And… the results:
5th runner-up: Ethiopia
4th runner-up: Vietnam
3rd runner-up: Colombia
2nd runner-up: Slovak Republic
1st runner-up: Costa Rica
Miss Intercontinental 2018: Philippines
Karen Gallman of the Philippines not only won Miss Intercontinental 2018 but brought home the first ever Miss Intercontinental crown to the Philippines; first Filipina Winner!!!
Congratulations Karen and to all of the Philippines!!!