Photo recap: 63rd Miss Universe preliminary competition

MANILA, Philippines – The Miss Universe preliminary competition was held Wednesday, January 21 (January 22 in Manila), giving audiences a treat for the coronation night to be held in just a few days.

Here’s a recap of the events:

Click here to see Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa’s screengrabs from the event.

Introductions

The program began with a first turn around the stage, with the 88 contestants emerging in colorful, casual day dresses and then introducing themselves in small groups.

Here’s a screengrab of Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa during her introduction:

The preliminary judges, inclding Azucena Cierco, Lloyd Boston, Corinne Nicolas (president of Trump Model Management), 1992 Miss Universe Michelle McLean Bailey, Access Hollywood New York bureau head Jeneine Doucette-White, Global sales executive for Delta Tyler Tixier, entertainment lawyer Jimmy Nguyen.

Evening gowns

The ladies then took to the stage in their evening gowns, as hosts Gabriela Isler and Roxanne Vargas introduced them with a short description. Miss France, for example, lost her father to cancer and has since made it her mission to ease the journey for those with the disease. Miss Indonesia helped out her disaster-struck country by raising funds.

Here are just a few screengrabs from this stage:

All eyes were on Miss Lebanon and Miss Israel, who recently made headlines for appearing in a selfie together. Miss World Philippines Valerie Weigmann defended Miss Lebanon.

Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa got loud cheers from the crowd, as hosts said she loved to travel alone and discover new cultures. She stunned in an intricate white gown. Watch her video interview with Rappler here.

The ladies are passionate about various causes – from Ebola awareness and prevention to children’s welfare to women’s rights.

In between the evening gown and swimsuit competitions, reigning Miss Universe Gabriela Isler talked about her work with Cordaid to aid victims of Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which she had spoken about during her previous visit to the Philippines.

A feature followed on the host city, Doral, Miami in the United States, and then there was a look back on the reign of Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler.

Swimsuit competition

Soon, it was time for the swimsuit competition. More trivia about the contestants followed. Miss Bahamas, for example, was once part of a reality competition. Miss Chile’s family lives on a farm, and in, the words of the hosts, is completely “self-sufficent,” growing their own food.

Miss Colombia is apparently a huge fan of Colombian-American Modern Family acress Sofia Vergara. Miss Lithuania is said to have such small feet that she often purchases shoes from the children’s section!

Here are some screengrabs from the swimsuit round: