Ahtisa Manalo visits Miss Universe Organization HQ in Bangkok

September 26 ------ The 74th Miss Universe pageant has yet to start in Thailand, but the Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo has already flown to Bangkok ahead of the competition. But the Filipino beauty queen’s trip to Thailand is not to get a head start in the competition. She is in the Thai capital for a hosting job as she is one of the presenters of the 17th Mister International pageant.

And before she wears her hosting cap, Manalo paid a visit to the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) headquarters at the JKN Building in Bangkok on Wednesday, Sept. 24, wearing a flowy, asymmetrical yellow gown by Fatima Beltran. At the international pageant organization’s offices, Manalo granted interviews and had photo and video sessions, something several other delegates have also experienced in the past.

In the previous years, several delegates paid a courtesy call on the MUO offices, either in New York or in Bangkok, ahead of their respective competitions. Even the 2024 winner, Victoria Kjær Theilvig, paid a visit to the Bangkok headquarters before the contest held in Mexico. Manalo will still return to Manila after hosting the final competition show of the 17th Mister International pageant, which will be staged at the MCC Hall Lifestore Ngamwongwan in Bangkok on Thursday evening, Sept. 25. Kirk Bondad is representing the Philippines in the competition.

A former Miss International runner-up, Manalo will try to score the Philippines’ fifth Miss Universe victory, following Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973, Pia Wurztbach in 2015, and Catriona Gray, who won in Thailand in 2018.

The 74th Miss Universe coronation show will be held at the Impact Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi, northwest of Bangkok, on Nov. 21. More than 130 delegates from around the world are expected to take part in the competition.

Source: inquirer.net