Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel is delighted to be in Mexico for the 73rd edition of the Miss Universe pageant where she will serve as the preliminary round host.
The preliminary and national costume competitions are taking place today (Nov. 15, Philippine time) while the coronation night will happen on Nov. 16 (Nov. 17, Philippine time) at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico.
The reigning Miss Universe 2023 is Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua.
Before heading to Mexico City, R’Bonney expressed her well wishes to Philippine bet Chelsea Manalo who will vie for the fifth Miss Universe crown for the country after Filipina Miss U winners Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015) and Catriona Gray (2018).
“I think she’s doing great. She’s killing it,” the Filipino-American beauty R’Bonney said in an interview during the recent Opulence Ball 2024.
“I know she’s prepared and she’s worked hard. She has a sweet personality so I wish her the best.”
Aside from Chelsea, there are half-Filipina beauty queens who are also participating at this year’s international pageant. They are Victoria Vincent (New Zealand), Christina Chalk (Great Britain), and Shereen Ahmed (Bahrain).
“I think Filipinas, we dominate in pageantry, we dominate in everything so I think they’re all gonna do really well,” R’Bonney commented.
Earlier, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray also told The STAR of her high hopes for the Philippine representative.
“I have really high hopes for Chelsea; I believe she’ll make us proud,” said the Fil-Australian beauty queen, who’s part of this year’s Miss Universe as commentator.
“I’m really excited about her! I think she brings a fresh breath of air to the competition. I know she’s had ample time to prepare, so I’m excited, just like every other Filipino, to see how she will make us proud every single day, from day one to coronation.”
In a previous STAR interview, Chelsea said that she’s been receiving messages of support from the former queens and even batchmates from the Miss Universe Philippines pageant.
“They are very supportive. Since the journey from when I was still a candidate for Miss Universe Philippines, I also received support from my co-candidates,” she said.
“So now that I’m competing in Miss Universe, I still get messages from them. It’s not just the support but, you know, engaging with them and being with them is also a training ground so that I won’t feel too much pressure or stress.”
One of the most important pieces of advice she received was “to just have fun.”
“I mean, it’s still a competition, but it’s a competition with myself. So during the whole process, you just enjoy it, savor the moment because it’s once in a lifetime,” she said.
As of writing, Chelsea just finished her closed-door interview. “I walked in with a calm heart and left feeling proud. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to share my story, embracing every part of it with authenticity and grace,” she wrote on her Instagram after the interview.
“It reminded me of my closed-door interview at Miss Universe Philippines, where I first felt the power of speaking from the heart. Back then, I spoke with sincerity, and today was no different. Here’s to representing the Philippines with pride and staying true to myself.”
Meanwhile, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has just unveiled its crown called “The Light of Infinity” made by Filipino jewelry brand Jewelmer. The crown “symbolizes women empowerment and her eternal journey towards transformational leadership,” the MUO said in a statement.
To vote for Chelsea, visit missuniverse.choicely.com or download the Miss Universe App at http://missu.page.link/vote, go to the Vote tab and vote Philippines. The winner of the Fan Vote will advance to the semifinals.