Australia's Maria Thattil is off to US for the 69th Miss Universe pageant

Miss Universe Australia 2020 Maria Thattil has left for the US to compete in the upcoming 69th Miss Universe pageant in Hollywood, Florida.

The 28-year-old Indian-Australian beauty posed with her national flag and luggage wearing Eliya the Label dress during her departure at Melbourne Airport.

"I consider myself a storyteller. And today, I depart for the US where I plan on telling a story on a global stage. The story of people who are both like me and those who are not - but have once been told they are ‘less than.’ The story of the true Australian spirit and being open to all. The story of the world I believe we can have when we champion inclusivity. My story, our story - I’m ready for the global mic," she said in a post on her official social media page.

"Powered by all of you, a vision bigger than I and gratitude - I’m ready to conquer the universe with my story of unity and love," she added.

"I am going to Miss Universe not as one, and not even as Australia alone, but as the billions of people whose differences make our world what it is today. You are all in my heart and my guiding strength."

The 69th Miss Universe pageant will air live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Sunday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo: Maria Thattil / Instagram

Popular posts from this blog

SPOTLIGHT: Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 Francisca Luhong James

Image
A 25-year-old part-time model and former public relations and marketing executive, Francisca Luhong James, will represent Malaysia at the 69th Miss Universe pageant in Hollywood, Florida this May. The Kayan-Kenyah-Iban native from Kuching, Sarawak, is the first woman with full native heritage to win the Miss Universe Malaysia title. She holds a first-class honors degree in mass communications and majored in public relations. Beauty-and-brain Francisca used to be a track-and-field athlete who despite having asthma was awarded three medals and she would like to inspire more native women to pursue their dreams. Besides advocating for women's empowerment, she also started a foundation Beyond Aid to raise money for refugees and underprivileged children. In a recent interview with a Malaysian morning TV show, she was asked "Why should you be the next Miss Universe?" and she genuinely replied: "I should be the next Miss Universe because I am not just representing myself and
Read more

FAVORITES: 69th Miss Universe Top 10 pre-arrival favorites

Image
The highly anticipated 69th Miss Universe pageant is about to kick off as over 70 delegates will start arriving at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, the USA this week. There are so many deserving delegates and it's quite difficult to narrow down the choices until they have all arrived in the competition and then you can have a clearer view of who truly stands out. Here are the 10 delegates who scored the highest on our list of pre-arrival favorites to win the 69th Miss Universe competition (in random order): MEXICO - Andrea Meza ROMANIA - Bianca Tirsin PHILIPPINES - Rabiya Mateo PERU - Janick Maceta NEPAL - Anshika Sharma AUSTRALIA - Maria Thattil THAILAND - Amanda Obdam JAMAICA - Miqueal-Symone Williams PUERTO RICO - Estefanía Soto VIETNAM - Nguyen Tran Khanh Van Close shots: Brazil, Canada, India, France, Argentina Photos: Miss Universe Organization
Read more

Puerto Rico's Estefanía Soto Torres to wear a Walter Mercado-inspired national costume at the 69th Miss Universe

Image
Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2020 Estefanía Soto Torres will be wearing a stunning Walter Mercado-inspired national costume at the 69th Miss Universe pageant. In honor of the Puerto Rican astrologer's life trajectory and unifying message of love and acceptance, Joshuan Aponte created the costume with 86,400 pieces of Austrian crystals. The beautiful headpiece is made of gold jewelry and precious stones that denote the 12 zodiacal signs and the stars in the sky. It is designed and composed of 78 separate pieces, one for each town of Puerto Rico, and includes six last quarter moons that embody the search for the country's 6th Miss Universe crown. "Walter Mercado inspired us to live embracing our identity and valuing our differences. The unifying force behind his message of universal positivism gives us the extraordinary power of progress in the face of the challenges we face as humanity," Estefanía shared on social media. "With this national costume, we celebrate Wa
Read more

Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Yastremska unveils 'Vytynаnka Soul' costume for the 69th Miss Universe pageant

Image
Miss Universe Ukraine 2020 Yelyzaveta Yastremska will be showcasing the "Vytynаnka Soul" national costume at the 69th Miss Universe pageant in Hollywood, Florida this May. Designed by Rada, the costume was inspired by Vytynаnka, a version of the art form of papercutting that is popular in Ukraine. It comes from the word "cut" in Ukrainian. Vytynankas are used to decorate the walls, windows, shelves, and tables. The ones that were made of fabric and leather are used to decorate clothes. "Life sometimes leaves holes in people's souls, but God makes them a beautiful harmonious picture that reflects the inner beauty of a human," Yelyzaveta said on her official social media page. "The white color of the costume symbolizes life, peace, happiness, and the pureness of a human's soul. Mirror brilliance reflects the inner world of a human. Our soul has wings, we are born to fly," she added. Photos: Olesya Iskova
Read more

69th Miss Universe: Vote for your favorite to enter Top 21

Image
Voting is officially open for the 69th Miss Universe pageant. You can now help your favorite contestant to automatically place into the Top 21. To vote, just visit the official page  vote.missuniverse.com  or download the Miss Universe official app on your Android or iOS application, or the Lazada app for the residents of the Philippines. You can vote once for free or pay for additional votes. Voting will end on Saturday, May 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Seventy-five contestants are confirmed to participate in the pageant. The final competition will be on Sunday, May 16 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, USA.
Read more