The finale of the 2013 Miss Universe pageant will be broadcast from Moscow a week from Saturday, November 9. We did our first preview post on Monday. There hasn’t been a lot of pageant news lately. Miss Ghana claimed to have been kidnapped, ostensibly so the runner-up could take her place. The battle was fought out mostly on Facebook. The facts remain murky, but the rightful Miss Ghana is now in Moscow.
Betting odds are starting to take shape, so we can identify some favorites. In truth, however, the odds mean little, as pageantry is rife with upsets. Still, for what it’s worth, the betting favorites at the moment are Philippines, USA, Spain, Poland, Panama and France, in that order.
As it happens, the Miss Universe site has now posted a swimsuit photo of each contestant, so here goes with the early favorites. Miss Philippines, Ariella Arida, who has a degree in chemistry:
Miss USA, Erin Brady. Given that the current Miss Universe is an American, I am skeptical. On the other hand, Miss Brady is an accountant and “was once a briefcase girl for the show, ‘Deal or no Deal.'”
Miss Spain, Patricia Rodriguez, is from the Canary Islands:
Miss Poland is apparently accident-prone. The Miss Universe site tells us these “fun facts:”
Due to a biking accident in Poland, Paulina now sees double! Paulina once fell from a catwalk modeling and now has a “hole” in her leg.
Miss Panama, Carolina Brid, was formerly on the national basketball team:
Finally, Miss France, Hinarani De Longeaux, who is from Fiji. Fun fact:
When Hinarani was snorkeling with friends in the French Polynesian Islands, she was suddenly surrounded by sharks. Luckily, they swam away soon after.
Is the winner in that group? Very possibly, but I am still not persuaded. My early favorite, as I said on Monday, is Miss Hungary. Sticking with the white swimsuit theme, here she is:
More to come!
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