Miss Earth 2010: the final review
By GB Editor, on December 4th, 2010
2010 ends with India confirming favoritism and winning its first Miss Earth title
Top 4: Ecuador (2nd), India (winner), Thailand (3rd), Puerto Rico (4th)
Nicole Faria of India has confirmed her favoritism and was crowned Miss Earth 2010 earlier today in Vietnam. It’s India’s first Miss Earth conquest. With victories in Miss World (5), Miss Universe (2), Miss Tourism Queen (1), and now Miss Earth (1), India has joined Brazil and Venezuela as the only three countries to have won 4 of the 6 Grand Slam pageants.
Jennifer Pazmiño of Ecuador, another major front-runner, was the first runner-up (Miss Earth Air), Miss Thailand, Watsaporn Wattanakoon, was the second runner-up (Miss Earth Water), and Puerto Rico’s Yeidy Bosques, rounded up the ‘top 4′ as third runner-up (Miss Earth Fire).
Among the top 7 finalists were the candidates from Japan, Marina Kishira, South Africa, Nondyebo Dzingwa, and Venezuela, Mariángela Bonanni.
The semi-finalists were Misses Czech Republic, Carmen Justová, Italy, Ilenia Arnolfo, Netherlands, Desiree van den Berg, Russia, Viktoria Shchukina, Ukraine, Valentina Zhytnyk, USA, Danielle Bounds, and Vietnam, Lưu Thị Diễm Hương.
Major awards went to Thailand, Watsaporn Wattanakoon (Photogenic), Guatemala, Sue Ellen Castañeda (Friendship), and Japan, Marina Kishira (National Costume).
The Pageant
In its 10th edition, Miss Earth can be described as Miss Universe’s “poor cousin” (poor, but a clean and decent one). In the early 2000′s it emerged as a creative alternative to what had been established in other contests for decades (original interviews, in which the candidates had to interpret environment-related images and show their knowledge on the subject, and the runner-ups being named after our planet’s four elements, which has been kept), but unfortunately it quickly lost its identity and is today a clear attempt to copy elements of Miss Universe of today and the 1980′s.
The opening number and contestants’ introduction was not original, but rather dynamic and entertaining. Hosts Oli Pettigrew, Marie Digby and Jennifer Pham did an overall good job (Oli made a mistake during the swimsuit competition when he called Miss Ukraine, instead of Puerto Rico, but gracefully fixed it. If even the great Daise Fuentes did it in Miss Universe 2003…).
Time flew in the first hour of competition, when everything ran smoothly. After the swimsuit competition, though, things slowed down. But we will get there in a minute.
The Top 14
Most semi-finalists deserved to be up there, including the USA, who was not among the prettiest, but did everything correctly (we mentioned in our review that she was the most likely “dark horse” to pull a surprise). The clear “error” was Miss Ukraine, who is said to have arrived in Vietnam last week (!!!!) and possibly placed because of the controversial participation of Crimea in the pageant (which was represented by a real stunner, the only major front-runner left in the ice).
Racism again spoke loudly in a pageant produced in Asia: South Africa got that “lucky spot” reserved for a black beauty, and amazing candidates like Nigeria, Martinique, South Sudan and Norway, had to, once again, stand back and applaud the judges’ choices…
With a simple, but effective production, everything was going alright until Vietnamese singer Mỹ Linh (some kind of local Celing Dilong) performed and long and cheesy song, followed by an evening gown competition with “little brothers” (an allusion to Miss Universe’s 80′s and 90′s little sisters), lots of videos and commercials, and the announcement of the Top 7.
If the pageant lost rhythm, at least results kept on making sense: the seven finalists were India, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Thailand, and Japan. Missing in this group were the gorgeous Vietnam (what a high price to pay for competing at home!) and Italy.
After interviews full of cliches (in the questions and answers), the final results were announced, and the major favorite, Nicole Faria of India (who was really in a league of her own, nobody came even close) walked away with the crown. Puerto Rico as 3rd runner-up might have been too much of a stretch, but nothing really shocking as she was always a favorite (Venezuela or Japan perhaps deserved it better).
One important note: ten years later and Miss Earth still has serious problems with interpreters. Miss Puerto Rico did not speak English, and did not get proper translation.
After alarming results in 2007 and 2008, with winners among the least attractive in the history of all Grand Slam pageants, it looks like Miss Earth reacted and regrouped well in time, with stunning Larissa Ramos and now Nicole Faria as its winners.
Congratulations to the stunning new Miss Earth!!
source: (Thank you and credits to
http://www.globalbeauties.com/
and all sources for the information and pictures)
