October 25, 2024 | 11:27pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ Christine Juliane “CJ” Opiaza almost got the golden crown but ended up with the 1st runner-up finish to India’s Rachel Gupta at the coronation night tonight of Miss Grand International 2024 held in Thailand.
Outgoing queen Luciana Fuster of Peru relinquished her title to India’s first Miss Grand International winner.
Opiaza’s 1st runner-up finish is a great victory from last year’s non placement. Crowd favorite Thae Su Nyein of Myanmar was proclaimed 2nd runner-up while Safietou Kabengee of France was named 3rd runner-up. Best in Swimsuit winner Talita Hartmann of Brazil completes the court as 4th runner-up.
The other ladies who made it to the Top 10 were Amy Virana Berry (United Kingdom), Kristina James (Dominican Republic), Susana Lucia Medina (Spain), Arlette Rujel (Peru), and Nova Liana (Indonesia, Miss Charming by Chat Cosmetics and winner of the Popular Vote, which fast tracked her automatically to the Top 10), while Maria Angelica Vaponte (Colombia), Samantha Catherine Keaton (US Virgin Islands), Melisha Lin (Malaysia), Tania Estrada Quezada (Mexico), Tokyo Gonzalo (Guatemala), Giulia Zanoni (El Salvador), Akisha Albert (Curacao), Sharon Capo (Paraguay), Luma Noemi Siguemitu (Japan), and Malin Chara-anan (Thailand, winner of an automatic semifinal placement as County’s Power of the Year, from an online poll on social media).
The other special award recipients are Misses Brazil, Ecuador, and Honduras (Best in National Costume), Misses Thailand and Vietnam (Miss Beauty Skin Hya Booster Serum, Miss Ghana (Best in Evening Gown), and Miss Trinidad & Tobago (Grand Voice of the Year).
Wearing a sparkling Mak Tumang evening gown, Opiaza was first to answer the final question during the Top 5.
The question was: “What do you think is the most critical issue in the world today that needs to be resolve And what solutions do you propose?”
“It’s of course, the presence of war and violence. We can see all around media that there are people dying, people suffering.
“You can see that children keeps crying, their dreams are being shattered, how our differences makes us divided.
“I collect you all as you leave this place today to bring much more kindness, respect and treat one another as a human. We live in the same world. We breathe the same air and we are living in the same place. Treat one another as your brothers and sisters,” Opiaza said.
Gupta’s winning answer centered on poverty and allocating the planet’s resources for all human beings.
“I believe the most critical issue the world is facing today is poverty due to overpopulation and lack of resources. Simply put there isn’t enough for everybody on this planet.
“I think it’s time for world leaders to take accountability and to start promoting the idea of enough resources for everybody. We can do this by promoting birth control methods in the different countries.
“I come from a country, India where not everybody has access to food, water, education and basic amenities. And this is true for most of the world.
“It’s time for us to stop fighting with each other and start respecting one another and making sure there are enough resources for everyone on this planet,” Gupta said.
Opiaza joins the ranks of near wins by Nicole Cordoves (2016) and Samantha Bernardo 2020). After 12 years, the golden crown has eluded the Philippines once again.
Hosted by Matthew Deane, the 12th Miss Grand International coronation night unfolded at the spanking new MGI Hall in Bangkok and was beamed to a global audience (with millions of viewers) through the Grand TV channel on YouTube. — With reports from Kathleen A. Llemit
YOU TRULY MADE US PROUD, CJ! ????
JUST IN: Christine Juliane Opiaza proudly represented the Philippines, winning first runner-up at Miss Grand International on Friday, October 25. #MGI2024 | via John Marwin Elao pic.twitter.com/XnGU1vnbFK
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) October 25, 2024
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