MISS EARTH 2018 FINAL HOTPICK

The Philippines becomes the battleground again of our 88 Goddesses of the Earth who battles it out on who will become the next Miss Earth 2018. For four weeks, our earth warriors had been given the best of the Philippine islands, from it's warm and gentle people's hospitality to food, culture, scenic eco-tourism sites, pristine white beaches and fun-filled activity that other pageants can't give. On its 18th year, Miss Earth had affirmed its status as a legit major pageant that will be broadcasted live in over 18 countries and expected to be watched by over 100 million viewers across the planet.

Tonight, we will witness a new set of elemental queens with a superb stage production and world-class performance from the legendary singer, Brian McKnight who will also sit as one of the finals judges. And for the first time on Miss Earth's history, its four elemental queens is complete as they will have their own farewell walk before they will relinquish their crowns to their successors.

Miss Earth Exclusive had been observing the performance of our delegates since they first arrived in the Philippines and our panelist had given scores on the girls performance based on the three crucial and official preliminary events which is Beauty of Face and Pose, Figure and Form, and Intelligence and Environmental Awareness. Each category had a corresponding percentage and we also included the attitude of the girls on our scoring sheet. This year, there might be minor changes as some delegates who had won a medal might be given an additional points aside from their official preliminary performance.

Without further ado, we present to you our final hotpick for Miss Earth 2018 in semi-continental rankings.

Telma Madeira of Portugal topped our list and there is no one right now stopping her on giving Portugal its first Miss Earth crown. After a year of preparation, she is ripe enough to become the next Miss Earth 2018. From her arrival, she is very consistent on wowing the international pageant aficionados with her beauty. She is an epitome of an Earth Goddess!

There is something on her that she becomes the cover girl of this batch amongst the global media that covers Miss Earth 2018. And after four weeks of pre-pageant activities, she is the girl to beat and she is proving it with her sheer hard work and dedication. With beauty of face and poise given an important value this year due to its theme "Goddesses", it might be no surprise if she will win even if she will give a lackluster answer in the finals tonight.

From a country with a weak pageant sash, our second placer Danijella Burjan of Slovenia surprised everyone with her irresistible charm the moment she set foot in Manila. She is one of the most photogenic girls in the competition and she is very competitive that you can't hardly notice her. She has a rock star aura and she used it as her leverage when she was able to capture medals during the pre-pageant activities and she can use it again tonight as her weapon.

Third on our list, Phuong Khanh Nguyen of Vietnam is the strongest delegate this year from Asia. She is not your usual pageant girl, she is not just competing but she is just herself, enjoying the pageant and at the same time gaining more friends. She is a very down to earth woman who is very confident of who she is and someone who knows when to peak in a competition, and it might be tonight when she needs it most.

Colombia in recent years become a powerhouse at Miss Earth and Valeria Ayos making it fourth on our hotpick is a testament of the dedication and hard work of her country's organization. And with Canal Telecaribe's live telecast of Miss Earth 2018 in Colombia, her countrymen can now watch as she battle it out with other goddess. She started as a weak girl from the start but she was able to redeem herself and get noticed. Valeria is using the same strategy that Michelle and Juliana did and it might worked on her and who knows,she might surpass the elemental placement of her predecessors.

Fifth on our list is Christie Van Schalkwyk of Nothern Ireland, she is the strongest this year from all British dominion or realm. She is flawless and have a striking beauty. She is one of the standouts of the three preliminary activities and her placement is a testament to it. Before arriving in the Philippines, she is one of the active delegates who did the eco-warrior activities and is working hard on her advocacies.

Margo Fargo is a surprise from the Africa's, she ranked sixth on our hotpick and is very consistent that she was able to place in all of our hotpicks on other categories. Being a finalist of Miss South Africa had honed her pageant skills and her lifelong advocacy on mother earth had become her strength since she started pageantry with Miss Earth South Africa. She is not supposed to compete at Miss Earth but her national director saw something on her aside from being a green ambassador that she was send to compete due to conflicting schedule of their national preliminaries to the international competition.

She is giving South Africa a sweet revenge after last year's representative was sent home due to height issues.

Placing seventh, is Philippine's very own Celesti Cortesi. Nobody can deny that Celesti was truly a goddess but we find a waterloo on her, she is the first Philippine delegate that was not able to produce an eco-video and is not participating the eco-warrior that is done by other delegates. Since Miss Earth introduced the eco-video and eco-warrior activities, previous Philippine delegates becomes the benchmark that other global franchise follows.

But Philippines is Philippines akin to Venezuela es Venezuela, either we admit it or not, Philippines is home to beauty queens. And Celesti stood out during the preliminary and was able to bag medals during the pre-pageant activities. Pageant wise, she is very deserving for a placement but the commitment towards mother earth will be tested tonight, if Miss Earth is sheering away into commercial and market viability or they will stay with their roots, and that is beauty with a cause.

The last on our top ranking is Puerto Rico's Krystal Xamairy, can she redeem Puerto Rico's glory at Miss Earth? Last year, her predecessor was a heavy favorite and it was a shocker when Karla Aponte was left out in the top 16. This year, with a new organization, they worked hard on finding that perfect girl that can bring Puerto Rico its first Miss Earth crown. Krystal is a perfect choice as she is beautiful and she resembles a lot with our reigning Miss Earth Water 2017 Juliana Franco and we love how she smiles so naturally. She is one of the youngest delegates of these batch and she is giving everyone a run of their own money.

We start our continental rankings with our African slots given to Nigeria's Maristella Okpala. She is one of the standouts among black delegates, maybe her training at Kagandahang Flores had helped her a lot. She has a standout personality with oozing confidence and her country rooting for her helped shaped her confidence a lot. If she make it more than the cut, her fans will be more prouder of her achievement but her performance is worthy enough to be proud of.

Emma Sheedy of Guam is one of the three 18 year old girls who made it on our final hotpick alongside Portugal and Puerto Rico. Will an 18 year old girl win the Miss Earth crown on its 18th year? Emma is supposed to compete last year and same with Portugal she had to compete the year after and spent a year preparing her biggest battle to date. Her experience watching the world finals last year helped her understand a lot on how to win the coveted green crown.

Priya Sigdel of Nepal is one of the most environmental active delegate and the most deserving girl if we based it on her long list of environmental credentials. Her Asian aura is giving her a unique edge on a sea of blonde beauties. She is worthy to be called an earth ambassador, a queen who walks the talk and making it on the cut is a testament on how serious she is with her advocacies. But crown or without crown, she already won the hearts of many green ambassadors worldwide.

Aleksandra Grysz of Poland is one of the standouts of Europe. This year, Europe is the strongest continent at Miss Earth as they keep on sending a goddess after a goddess and Aleksandra was not left out as she stood out among the rest. Aside from her beauty, she is very down to earth and is very knowledgeable during the crucial preliminary for Intelligence and Environmental Awareness and it will be her edge comes finals night.

Since Beauty of Netherlands, the biggest beauty pageant in Holland had the franchise of Miss Earth, they keep on sending stunners and Margaretha de Jong is part of it. Although throughout the pre-pageant activities she had a mediocre performance but she is always on our radar due to her striking beauty given that beauty had a biggest factor tonight on determining the next Miss Earth 2018. Aside from her beauty and her figure and form, she performs well on the crucial Intelligence and Environmental Awareness round, maybe they learned a lot from last year.

Antonia Figueroa of Chile is one of the heavy favorites of the Latino community and is one of the strongest Latina delegate. She is very good in communication skills, her experience as a pageant veteran might helped her a lot. She is a multi-thespian and one of the very talented delegate this year. Aside from that, she is very approachable, professional and will greet you even if she is very tired from the pre-pageant activities.

The moment Melissa Flores of Mexico won her national pageant, she already cemented her status as a frontrunner. And her organization took effort on grooming her to become the next Miss Earth 2018. She studied English so that she can converse easily using the global language that is seen as a barrier to some Latin speaking nations. Then she was sent to Manila ahead of the official start of the competition so that she will become more prepared and ready to clinch the crown. Worthy enough of her preparation, she bagged medals after medals that helps her to be keep on top radar among pageant aficionados and fans. She is one of the delegates with a solid fan base before the start of competition and it is one of her edge as her fans keep on boosting her chances of becoming the first Mexican winner of Miss Earth.

Venezuela es Venezuela! Just wear a Venezuela sash and you will surely be noticed for being the perennial home of beauty queens. This year, Venezuela is represented by the bubbly Diana Silva and she is giving Globovision a good ratings. She arrived in the Philippines like a weak delegate but as week progress, you can not deny that she is Venezuela as she started to garner medals after medals. With a country cheering on her via live tv broadcast, can she bring back the crown to Venezuela?

Indonesia is hungry for a Miss Earth placement and winning it all is a bonus. Ratu Vashti Annisa make sure that she can start a placement for her country when she flew in the Philippines before the official start of competition to train under Kagandahang Flores. For years, Miss Earth crown is so elusive for Indonesia and this year, given with their dedication and sheer hard work, we can already feel that for 18 years, Indonesia, we finally did it!

Completing our list is Yashvi Aware of USA, the land of the brave and the home of the free. USA had a good placement to date at Miss Earth given their organization's commitment and dedication. Yashvi is very outstanding on her advocacy and is working hard on spreading environmental awareness. We hope her performance will not be deterred by her previous minor injury and she can stand out on her performance tonight.

***DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions written on this page is of Miss Earth Exclusive and its staff.