The Miss Universe 2017 winner will be announced this Sunday. However, the winners of the preliminary round will be announced in a few hours.
The prelims began earlier this week and a lucky few got the chance to watch the divas flaunt their toned body in swimwear and evening gowns, sponsored by Yamaha. Based on their reactions, Philstar recounted the prelims to reveal fan favourites from the night.
According to the Philippine website, most of the contestants wore two-piece swimwear. However, the site shared that Miss British Virgin Islands, Miss China, Miss Guatemala, Miss Egypt, Miss Israel and Miss Lebanon donned a one-piece outfit.
It is said that even Miss Iraq will switch to a one-piece suit at the finals, in case an uproar takes place.
Coming to the predictions: According to the audience in the hall, Miss Philippines Rachel Peters has the highest of chances of winning the Evening Gown round, whereas Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters should win the Best in Swimwear title.
But E! believes Miss Thailand Maria Poonlertlarp and Miss USA Kára McCullough could give the South African beauty tough competition.
The Philippine website also revealed that the Asians and Latinas owned the National Costumes round with their beautiful attires.
Fan favourites included Japan's Momoko Abe, Indonesia's Bunga Jelitha, Thailand's Maria Poonlertlarp, Myanmar's Zun Thansin, Venezuela's Keysi Sayago, Canada's Lauren Howe, Mexico's Denisse Franco, Nicaragua's Berenice Quesada and Spain's Sofia del Prado.
Going past the preliminary round, Rappler's experts have predicted the top 5 beauties who stand higher chances than others to take home the crown.
Voltaire E Tayag from the site predicts that Kara McCullough of the US, Laura Gonzalez from Colombia, Keysi Sayago of Venezuela, Rachel Peters from the Philippines or Maria Poonlertlarp from Thailand could be the Miss Universe 2017 winner.
While she clarified that she based her predictions on each contestant's performance this year, she also listed her personal favourite for the top 5. They are Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, South Africa; Keysi Sayago, Venezuela; Maria Poonlertlarp, Thailand; Monalysa Alcantara, Brazil and Rachel Peters, the Philippines.
We'll know who wins in a matter of a few hours. Preliminaries begin at 11 am ET on November 25 – 9:30 pm IST and midnight in Philippines. The event will be aired live on Facebook.
