Philippine’s Catriona
Gray beat 93 other aspirants to the 2018 Miss Universe crown in
ceremonies staged at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday
(Dec 17).
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Photo: AFP |
She
is the fourth Filipino woman to win the title. She received her crown
from last year’s winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa.
Nel-Peters’
compatriot Tamaryn Green failed to score a back-to-back victory for
their country and settled for second place. Venezuela’s Sthefany
Gutierrez came in third.
The 94-candidate haul this year is the biggest in the pageant’s 66-year-history.
During
the final round of the question and answer segment, the final three
contestants were asked about the most important lesson they learned in
their lives.
Gray shared her experience working in the slums of
Tondo, Manila, and looking at the “silver lining” through the smiles of
the children there. She hopes to inspire a feeling of being grateful
“where negativity will not foster, and the children will have smiles.”
This year, the global tilt had its first all-female panel of judges.