Miss Earth 2017 Winners: PH Rep Bags The Crown, US Bet Fails To Enter Top 8
The new Miss Earth 2017 is Karen Ibasco of the Philippines. The newly crowned Earth queen was crowned by Katherine Espin of Ecuador (Miss Earth 2016) and bested 84 other candidates from all over the world in a Wonder Woman-inspired ceremony held at the Mall Of Asia Arena, Pasay City, Philippines earlier today (Saturday, November 4 PST).
Her elemental court will be filled by Juliana Franco of Colombia (Miss Earth Water 2017), Akimova Lada of Russia (Miss Earth Fire 2017), and Nina Robertson of Australia (Miss Earth Air 2017).
Ibasco, 26, is a Filipino medical physicist and an environmental crusader that advocates micro-actions towards macro implementation. She has secured her spot in the competition after acing three preliminary categories: Body And Form, Beauty And Poise, and Intelligence.
Unlike other beauty pageants, Miss Earth curved a distinct process of selecting its winners. For almost a month each delegate experienced an epic adventure with the Filipino biodiversity and culture. The contestants underwent environmental seminars and acted on several causes affiliated with the Miss Earth Organization.
In her winning answer to the Final Question Round, the newly-crowned Miss Earth sealed her win after answering the final question: “Who/What is the biggest enemy of mother earth?”
“I believe that the real problem is not climate change. The real problem is us, because of our ignorance and apathy,” Ibasco answered.
On the other hand, the Australian representative took a subtle shot at U.S. President Donald Trump when she delivered her answer, saying, “The real enemy of the Earth are the people who don’t believe that global warming is real.”
Pageant Fans Upset
While the pageant community celebrates their new queens, some are upset when heavy favorites from Thailand and Venezuela failed to enter the final round. Miss Thailand Paweensuda Drouin is a fan favorite with a remarkable stint at the Miss Universe Thailand 2017 pageant while Miss Venezuela Ninoska Vasquez has arrived in the competition as the most prepared delegate with the heaviest sash factor.
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However, upsets like this make the Miss Earth pageant unique aside from the causes it stands for.
The above mentioned candidates took part in the Top 8 with Miss Czech Republic. Completing the Top 16 are representatives from the USA, Tonga, Angola, Guatemala, Vietnam, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cameroon.
The pageant was hosted by CNN’s James Deakin. Grammy award-winning singer Shontelle delivered a powerful rendition of her hit Impossible while fast-rising pianist Iskandar Widjaja accompanied the girls in their long gown presentation with a heart-stopping performance.
[Featured Image by Bullit Marquez/AP Images]
