67 CANDIDATES, MISS UNIVERSE DELIGHT FANS
Sixty-seven of the 86 official candidates of the Miss Universe 2016 competition showed off their curves in Cebu during the swimwear presentation yesterday.
Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach led the candidates’ visit to Cebu, sharing how special the province is to her.
“Cebu is very special to me. Before the Miss Universe, I came here to pray to the Sto. Niño,” Wurtzbach said in her speech. Incidentally, Cebu celebrated the feast of the Sto. Niño, also known as Sinulog, last Sunday.
Security was tight during the swimwear presentation, and so was the venue.
The presentation was supposed to be held at the garden of JPark Island Resort and Waterpark in Lapu-Lapu City but the weather was not cooperative.
The presentation had to be moved indoors—the Triton Ballroom.
Miss Philippines Maxine Medina, who had a homecourt advantage, drew the loudest applause.
Based on social media, among the favorites were Miss Venezuela Mariam Habach, Miss Brazil Raissa Santana and Miss Thailand Chalita Suansane.
Late in the afternoon, some of the candidates headed to SM Seaside City to visit the Uniqlo store, which is one of the sponsors of the event.
They were in Cebu for less than 24 hours. The first batch of candidates arrived around 7:30 yesterday morning while the second batch arrived an hour later with Wurtzbach.
Early this morning, they will head back to Manila for more official activities. Last Monday night, they were dressed to the nines for the Governor’s Ball at the SMX Convention Center.
Coronation night will be on Jan. 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena.