Miss Universe 2012 Prediction
If the Mayan prediction comes true that the world will end on December 21, 2012, whoever wins Miss Universe will definitely hold the record of the shortest reign in history. But by then, who cares, right? Everyone will be dead. But prediction is exactly that, a prediction. It is not necessarily what will actually happen. If you look up the definition of the word prediction, it simply states that it’s a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge. Therefore, it may or may not happen.
With that said, Pageant Extra decided to show our prediction for Miss Universe 2012 based on our experience and knowledge, combined with what we saw in the preliminary competition on December 13.
Who do we think will make the top 16? Here they are, in random order…
First up, PUERTO RICO – Bodine Koehler
Bodine performed really well at the preliminary and according to our fashion experts, sported one of the best evening gowns of the evening. Plus, Puerto Rico always do well at Miss Universe. They have made the semifinals 7 times since 2000 and have won the crown five times.
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Please join us, USA – Olivia Culpo
Olivia is simply stunning! People had mixed reactions about her evening gown during the preliminary but no one can deny that she has one of the best bods in the competition. She also interviews really well and very confident in front of the camera.
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Next up, CROATIA – Elizabeta Burg
You have to be blind to miss the angelic face of Elizabeta. She’s very photogenic, stylish and knows how to work the stage.
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Come on down, GEORGIA – Temar Shedania
She was so unexpected and so fresh. Her performance at preliminary is flawless and was ranked second among our fashion experts’ best evening gown. She worked it and she was noticed!
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The stage is yours, PARAGUAY – Egni Eckert
Another surprise at the preliminary…Egni looked amazing. She projected herself as a winner and came out a winner. She couldn’t do anything wrong that evening…great performance in both evening gown and swimsuit.
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The sixth spot is for the hotness that is, BOLIVIA – Yessica Mouton
From the moment she stepped out on her evening gown, we knew she had it. She exuded pure confidence; she took her time on stage and incorporated some playfulness in her performance. There is only one word to describe this woman, sultry!
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And to join our happy little group, SOUTH AFRICA – Melinda Bam
We have to go with the odds makers’ pick. This woman is non-stop style. A full year of preparation has paid off for Melinda and she is ready to conquer the world!
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The next spot belongs to, NETHERLANDS – Nathalie den Dekker
Her swimsuit performance alone would have catapulted her into the top 16. She loves the camera, knows how to play the crowd and definitely one of best blondes in the competition.
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This moment belongs to, AUSTRALIA – Renae Ayris
Another blonde. Have you been counting? Renae is blonde number 5. The Aussie’s have been doing really well at Miss Universe in recent years and Renae will keep that streak going. She did well at preliminary and since Kooey Australian Swimwear is a big sponsor this year, it just seems appropriate.
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The number 10 spot belongs to, MEXICO – Karina Gonzalez
Even though her performance at the preliminary is a bit mediocre, we think she will still be in the top 16. She has one of the largest supporters in the audience and the two Miss Universe winners from Mexico were both crowned in Las Vegas.
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Let’s welcome, CZECH REPUBLIC – Tereza Chlebovska
Tereza is one of the most beautiful delegates this year and performed really well at preliminary. The Czechs have been doing well in this pageant in recent years and have been sending very well prepared candidates. However, they have never gone pass the top 10 yet. Maybe Tereza will change that.
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To complete our lucky dozen, please come forward, KOSOVO – Diana Avdiu
One glance at this lady and you will understand why she won the award of Miss Photogenic. She is sophisticated, has great style and just plain classy.
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In Vegas, Lucky 13 is, SRI LANKA – Sabrina Herft
This girl just has everything going right for her. Her styling is perfect, she knows how to work the crowd and she’s very confident. She could have picked a better evening gown but remember, the judges are not supposed to judge the gown. They are supposed to judge the contestants on how they look and carry themselves in an evening gown. If that’s the case, Sabrina, you’re safe!
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Only 3 spots left, one of these spots belongs to, THAILAND – Nutpimon Farida Waller (Our guess as the Voters’ Choice)
Farida did well at the preliminary and she is just absolutely gorgeous. She doesn’t look like your typical Thai contestants because Farida is half Thai and half Austrian but grew up in Thailand.
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Only two names left, one of them is, VENEZUELA – Irene Esser
Irene is gorgeous and has a killer bod. Her evening gown was not exactly our favorite but she carried it well. As pretty as she is, she lacks the appeal that her predecessors had but we think she’ll still be up there.
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And rounding out the top 16 is, PHILIPPINES – Janine Tugonon
Miss Universe is a sucker for drama and suspense so we figured that since Janine will probably have the loudest cheer from the audience like Venus in 2010, we have to name her last. Janine is exotic and her body is to die for. Wish she would change her evening gown as it was a bit drab and boring. She also looks better with her hair down so we suggest keeping it that way, adding some volume to it and wearing the yellow gown instead.
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If we have to predict the final five and their placements, we will have to incorporate a little bit of statistics and probabilities. The first competition after the top 16 is always the swimsuit. Looking at the performances in the preliminary, the top 10 women with knockout bodies at the preliminary will score the highest. With that in mind, the top 10 will likely be Australia, Bolivia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA, Philippines, Croatia, Netherlands, Puerto Rico and Paraguay.
The top 10 then compete in evening gown, which will decide the top 5. With their preliminary performances in mind and considering who the top 5 women in evening gowns, we believe that the top 5 will be Paraguay, USA, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Australia.
With that said, our prediction for the final placements looks like this:
4th Runner Up – Australia, Renae Ayris
3rd Runner Up – Paraguay, Egni Eckert
2nd Runner Up – Puerto Rico, Bodine Koehler
1st Runner Up – USA, Olivia Culpo
Miss Universe 2012 – South Africa, Melinda Bam
Good luck to all the ladies and to everyone who is creating their own prediction list. The winner will be announced during the live telecast on Wednesday, December 19, from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas at 8pm PST, hosted by Andy Cohen and Giuliana Rancic.
Miss Universe 2012 – National Costume Photos
The Miss Universe 2012 National Costume Photos
Photos courtesy of Miss Universe LP, LLLP
Miss Universe 2012 – Preliminary Evening Gown Photos
The Miss Universe 2012 Preliminary Evening Gown Photos
Photos courtesy of Miss Universe LP, LLLP
Miss Universe 2012 – Preliminary Swimsuit Photos
The Miss Universe 2012 Preliminary Swimsuit Photos
Photos courtesy of Miss Universe LP, LLLP
Miss Universe 2012 – Preliminary Competition Heats Up Tonight!
The preliminary competition for Miss Universe 2012 will be held tonight and will be streamed live on the web via UStream. Most pageant pundits predict that this will be the year of the blondes. Heavy favorites include South Africa, Melinda Bam, Czech Republic, Tereza Chlebovska and Poland, Marcelina Zawadzka. If you’ve been following any type of pageant coverage online, it’s quite evident as to why these women are considered frontrunners. Not only are they all remarkably beautiful and talented, but they are almost guaranteed recipients of the infamous Top 15 Trump cards as the Donald has a soft spot for blonde bombshells. Latin pageant fans are almost certain to disagree with this analysis as they believe that the Latinas have the edge over the blondes. The Latina favorites include Mexico, Karina Gonzalez; Venezuela, Irene Esser and Puerto Rico, Bodine Koehler. And then there are the Asians who think that this year is the strongest line up of Asian contenders at Miss Universe ever. The lineup include Thailand, Nutpimon Natthayalak; Indonesia, Maria Selena; Sri Lanka, Sabrina Herft and the candidate that is expected to receive the loudest cheers from the audience, Philippines, Janine Tugonon.
If we analyze the past, historically speaking, the contestant that gets the most hype never wins the crown. Last year, it was China. She was the expected winner even before the candidates arrived in Sao Paolo. Even the odds makers picked the 5’11.5” tall model from Shanghai as the frontrunner. Angola remained unnoticed until she made the top 5 and the audience started cheering for her. In 2010, Ireland and Albania got the most hype. They both made top 10 but that’s as far as they got. In 2009, Dominican Republic and Kosovo got the most hype. Luckily for these two, they both made the top 5. Nonetheless, neither of them won the crown. In 1994, the most popular and most hyped contestant was Belgium. Sadly, she didn’t even make the semifinals. In 1997, the most hyped contestant was Curacao. Pageant pundits were almost certain that Curacao will have its first Miss Universe but she fell short at the judge’s question after choosing to respond in English instead of using aid from an interpreter.
There are a few contestants this year that might surprise even the most veteran of pageant analytics. One that seems to be off everyone’s radar is Gabon, Channa Divouvi. Channa’s exotic looks can be attributed to her mix race. Her mother is Filipino and her father is Gabonese. She’s got the goods to do well in this pageant and luckily for her, the odds are on her favor too. When a country debuts at Miss Universe and sends a noteworthy delegate like Channa, chances are they would do very well. Other countries that did well at their debut include USSR (Russia) in 1992, Czech Republic in 1994, Botswana in 1999, China in 2002, Serbia & Montenegro in 2003 and Kosovo in 2008.
One contestant not getting a lot of attention is El Salvador, Ana Yancy. She’s reminiscent of Miss El Salvador 1996, Milena Mayorga. She’s stunning and photographs really well. She is definitely someone to watch at the preliminary competition tonight. With the right styling and a right choice of evening gown, she’ll make top 16.
If there is one country that is due for a win, it will have to be Argentina. This South American nation of over 41 million inhabitants has already produced a Miss Universe in 1962 and successfully made the semifinals 14 times between 1954 and 1979. But since then, they’ve only made the semifinals once, in 2006. This year, the drought may have ended when the Land of the Pampas found Camila Solorzano to put Argentina back on the pageant map. This stunning 5’10” tall native of San Miguel de Tucuman, is one of the last delegates to be crowned in the local level. She previously represented Argentina at the Miss Earth Pageant in 2008 but failed to make the semifinals.
Other noteworthy contenders this year include Croatia, Lebanon, Sweden, Israel and Bahamas.
Meet the 89 Candidates for Miss Universe 2012!
Photos Courtesy of Miss Universe LP, LLLP and graphics by Pageantlovers.com
The 2012 Miss Universe Pageant is about to begin
The 89 Miss Universe Pageant contestants started arriving this weekend and the official kickoff begins with a fashion runway show at Planet Hollywood on Dec. 6. The contestants will wear their gowns on a catwalk and introduce themselves to the public. They also will film a behind-the-scenes tour with“Jubilee!” at Bally’s, with NBC recording the high-kicking lineup.
The preliminary pageant is set for December 13 and the finals telecast December 19. Expect the holiday season to be “well embraced” on the telecast. Pure at Caesars Palace will host a party for the contestants. Reigning Miss Universe Leila Lopes will in attendance.
Miss Universe 2012 is all set!
Miss Greece Universe, Vasiliki Tsirogianni, Miss Germany Universe, Alicia Endemann and Miss Universe Haiti, Jacques Christela
The last 3 contestants for Miss Universe 2012 were crowned recently, completing the list of 88 candidates who will be vying for the most prestigious title in pageantry today. The last 3 contestants are Miss Greece Universe, Vasiliki Tsirogianni, Miss Germany Universe, Alicia Endemann and Miss Universe Haiti, Jacques Christela. The contestants are expected to arrive in Las Vegas during the first week of December. Early favorites includes Bahamas, Ecuador, South Africa, USA and Venezuela.
This will be the third time that the Miss Universe Pageant will be held in Sin City. The two previous pageants produced Mexico’s first and second Miss Universe winners. Some believe that Las Vegas is lucky for Mexico, hence putting the pressure on Karina Gonzalez, Mexico’s representative in this year’s pageant. Another country under pressure is the Philippines. In 2010, Maria Venus Raj ended the country’s 10-year drought. Raj finished 4th Runner Up. Last year, Shamcey Supsup kept the streak going and finished 3rd Runner Up. This year, Philippines is sending another strong contender, Janine Tugonon. Expect another Filipino-filled audience as Las Vegas is home to one of the largest Filipino communities outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Another contestant feeling the pressure is our very own Miss USA, Olivia Culpo. It’s been 15 years since the last Miss USA won the Miss Universe crown. A few recent Miss USA’s failed to even make top 5. Last year, Alyssa Campanella made it only to top 16. In 2010, Rima Fakih didn’t even make the semi finals. The last time Miss USA failed to make the semi finals was in 2002. In 2007 and 2008, both Rachel Smith and Crystle Stewart fell during the semi final evening gown competition.
It’s already been a very interesting year for the pageant and for the Miss Universe Organization as a whole. They’ve been plagued with controversies including Miss Pennsylvania’s accusation of fixing the 2012 Miss USA Pageant. Then there’s the controversy of the Dominican Republic refusing to pay the fee in order for the pageant to be held in that country. Faced with the dilemma of setting the pageant date without a venue, they resorted to a last-minute deal with Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. When Miss Universe owner Donald Trump decided to postpone the pageant due to the Olympics, no one expected that it will be as late as December. Because of this, Leila Lopes became the longest reigning Miss Universe in history. One thing the Miss Universe Organization need to think about is when to hold the 2013 pageant. If they decide to hold it in August or September, the 2012 winner will have the shortest reign of any Miss Universe winner.
Some of the interesting facts about this year’s pageant includes the debut of Lithuania and Gabon, the return of Bulgaria, Ethiopia and Namibia after a 3-year absence. Seven countries withdrew this year including Egypt, US Virgin Islands, Botswana, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Turks & Caicos and Slovenia. There have been quite a few replacements this year including Cyprus, Ntaniella Kefala was replaced by Ioánna Giannakoú the 2nd runner-up of Star Cyprus 2012 for undisclosed reasons; Dominican Republic, Carola Durán was replaced by Dulcita Lieggi the 1st runner-up of Miss Republica Dominicana 2012, after being dethroned. The organizers found out that Durán was allegedly a divorce woman; Estonia, Kätlin Valdmets was replaced by Natalie Korneitsik, the 1st runner-up of Eesti Miss Estonia 2012 pageant due to Katlin not being able to travel to participate; France, Delphine Wespiser was replaced by Marie Payet, the 2nd runner up of Miss France 2012 due to Delphine being unable to attend both the pageant and Miss France 2013. Gabon, Marie-Noëlle Ada was replaced by Channa Divouvi, the 1st runner-up of Miss Gabon 2011 due to Marie being unable to attend both the pageant and Miss Gabon 2012; India, Urvashi Rautela was replaced by Shilpa Singh, the 1st runner-up of I Am She 2012 and originally scheduled to compete at Miss Globe International 2013 pageant due to Urvashi further acknowledges and agrees that she did not confirm the minimum age criteria as required under the I am She pageant as well as the Miss Universe pageant; New Zealand: Avianca Böhm was replaced by Talia Bennett the 1st runner-up of Miss Universe New Zealand 2012, after her New Zealand citizenship application was denied.
Despite of it all, Miss Universe fans remain loyal and will support the pageant despite all of its difficulties and controversies. Who would have thought that Miss Universe will ever have a Christmas-themed pageant? What should we expect? Would we see a swimsuit competition in snow, with the contestants wearing red Santa hats? What about an evening gown competition where the contestants will step out of a sleigh? Christmas trees on stage? Yuck…can you say tacky!
PAGEANT EXTRA 