Excited pageant fans filled Bangkok to support contestants at the Miss Universe pageant, chanting and welcoming arrivals from rehearsals. Miss Universe Philippines Ahtisa Manalo received flowers and gifts from cheering supporters. “I always tell her every morning I’m very proud of you,” said Voltaire Tayag, executive vice president of Miss Universe Philippines.
Rehearsals for the preliminaries and finals ran throughout the day. “Everyone was so excited,” Manalo said of the “fun” rehearsals. “Parang hindi na ako nananaginip sa pagod… [but still] very, very exciting.”
For India’s Manika Vishwakarma, learning choreography and long rehearsals were “always a pleasure.” Miss Universe Puerto Rico Zashely Nicole Alicea Rivera said the support left her speechless: “I don’t have words to describe all of this… it’s beautiful and I’m so grateful.”
Miss Universe Pakistan Roma Riaz got emotional seeing her family. “Everyone’s energy is super high and all the girls have been super excited,” she said. “I’m so endlessly grateful for all the love and support. I don’t think I could ever forget all these [words] of kindness.”
Tahiti Seymour of the Cayman Islands, wearing a Filipino-designed suit, said, “it’s long days but everybody is good vibes right now. Because we know we worked hard for this and we know good things take hard work, so we’re excited to finish strong and show everything that we prepared.”
Miss Universe Nicaragua Itza Castillo said she was ready despite nerves: “I’m so ready for it, to see the biggest stage, and I’m so excited about that.” Spain’s Andrea Valero also felt emotional seeing her family. “Today was a very intense day of rehearsals from morning ’til like midnight, but looking forward for you guys to see what [we] prepared,” she said.
