Malaysia's Francisca Luhong James off to the US for the 69th Miss Universe pageant

Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 Francisca Luhong James proudly waved her national flag in a Rizman Ruzaini send-off outfit during her departure for the US on Wednesday, May 5.

The 25-year-old marketing executive also shared a sneak peek of her catwalk for the 69th Miss Universe pageant before her flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

In a post on her official social media page, Francisca wrote a message for her parents who came all the way from Sarawak to support her.

"It’s been a long journey. Finally, here we are now. They never stop me from reaching my milestones. I will forever be your Luhong James, your one and only daughter, who is always full of surprises. I’m happy to have both of them by my side before the take off. This is just the beginning," she said.

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

Photos: Miss Universe Malaysia

Popular posts from this blog

Miss Universe 2024: Meet the contestants

Image
Miss Universe 2024, the 73rd Miss Universe pageant will be held on November 16 at the the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The country known for its rich culture, ancient ruins, dazzling beaches, and incredible cuisine has been chosen to host the competition for the fifth time after 1978, 1989, 1993, and 2007. A total of 114 national queens have been crowned up to this point and are all set to compete in this year's highly anticipated beauty pageant. Reigning Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua will crown her successor at the end of the event. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss Universe (@missuniverse) Meet the contestants: Albania - Franceska Rustem Argentina - Magalí Benejam Armenia - Irina Zakharova Aruba - Anouk Eman Australia - Zoe Creed Bahamas - Selvinique Wright Belarus - Karyna Kisialiova Belgium   - Kenza Ameloot Belize - Halima Hoy Bolivia - Juliana Barrientos Bonaire - Ruby Pouchet Botswana - Thanolo Keutlwile
Read more

Snit Tewoldemedhin crowned first-ever Miss Universe Eritrea

Image
Eritrea, a northeast African country on the Red Sea coast, will participate for the first time in the annual Miss Universe pageant this year. A coronation ceremony was held on Friday, October 18 at the Eritrean Cultural and Civic Center in Washington, DC to crown Snit Tewoldemedhin as Miss Universe Eritrea 2024. The 25-year-old advocate for children with learning disabilities is a fashion model and a graduate of George Mason University with a degree in neuroscience. No stranger to pageantry, Snit previously joined the Miss Africa USA 2023 pageant in Greenbelt, Maryland, and won the title. "I'm beyond honored to be your first-ever Miss Universe Eritrea and represent you all on the biggest pageantry stage in the world, Miss Universe," she wrote online. Snit will represent her home country at Miss Universe 2024 in Mexico this coming November. Road to the 73rd Miss Universe: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss Universe Eritrea Official (@miss
Read more

The Miss Globe 2024 is Diana Moreno from Colombia

Image
Colombia's Diana Moreno was crowned The Miss Globe 2024 in a glittering competition held on Tuesday, October 15 at the Tirana Olympic Park in Albania. The 27-year-old international business professional bested over 40 competitors to win the global title. She made history as the first Colombian woman to become The Miss Globe. Prada Thansita Dilhokanansa of Thailand was named first runner-up while Jasmin Bungay of the Philippines, Andromeda Schuster of Germany, and Ha Trang Do of Vietnam were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The contestants from Italy, Cameroon, Belgium, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Albania, Montenegro, and the USA were the rest of the Top 16 semifinalists. This year's competition marked the 21st edition of the annual The Miss Globe pageant. Last year's winner from Malaysia, Manvin Khera, crowned her successor at the end of the event. The new "The Miss Globe" winner hails from Barbosa in the northea
Read more

Miss Grand International 2024: Meet the contestants

Image
Miss Grand International 2024, the 12th edition of the annual Miss Grand International pageant, is underway in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 71 grand contestants from different countries and territories around the world have arrived in the host country to compete for the coveted golden crown. One of them will be crowned by outgoing queen Luciana Fuster from Peru in the finals this October 25 at the MGI Hall in Bravo BKK Mall. The contestants will have their national costume competition on October 20 while the preliminary competition and the final round for the Grand Voice Award will be held on October 22. Head over to the official website to vote for your favorites. The winner of Miss Popular Vote will automatically earn a spot in the Top 10 in the upcoming coronation night. Who will be the next Miss Grand International? Meet the contestants: View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 (@missgrandinternational) ALBAN
Read more

Eleanora Kachalovskaya to represent Belarus at Miss Universe 2024

Image
Belarus, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, will participate for the first time in the Miss Universe pageant. Eleanora Kachalovskaya, a 24-year-old fashion model from Minsk, has recently been appointed officially as Miss Universe Belarus 2024. No stranger to pageantry, the first-ever Miss Universe Belarus has competed in Miss Belarus 2023 and won the title among 24 contestants. She also went to the Miss Europe Continental Global Edition last year in Naples, Italy and placed first runner-up. The first-ever Miss Universe Belarus will now represent her country at Miss Universe 2024 in Mexico this coming November. Road to the 73rd Miss Universe: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Элеонора Качаловская | модель (@_kachalovskaya_elia) Photos: Miss Belarus, Eleonora Kachalovskaya / Instagram
Read more

Colombia's Yuri Rey crowned Miss Aura International 2024

Image
Yuri Rey from Colombia bested over 40 other contestants to win Miss Aura International 2024 on Friday, October 18 in Antalya, Turkey. The 29-year-old talented makeup artist and model was crowned by last year's winner Ketwalee "Ket" Phonbodi from Thailand. Isabelle De Los Santos of the Philippines was named first runner-up while Gizem Çelik of Türkiye, Yasmin Zaini of Malaysia, and Makeeba-Kaya Animpong of Ghana were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The Top 11 finalists were from Brazil (Jhenifer Santos), Indonesia (Olivia Stephanie), Romabia (Rafaela Farcas), Russia (Anna Semenovykh), Thailand (Kittiyapron Fungmee), and Venezuela (Maria Antoinetta Silva). Bashkortostan (Lyaisan Valieva), Cambodia (Senglyhour Keo), Czech Republic (Bara Sulanova), Dominican Republic (Floralba Caba), India (Svara Mandlik), Korea (June Koo), Nigeria (Joy Oranezi), South Africa (Bibi van Zyl), and USA (Mercia Stephens) rounded out the Top 20 semifinalists. No stranger to
Read more

FAVORITES: Miss Universe 2024 Top 16 pre-arrival favorites

Image
After months of anticipation, the much-awaited 73rd Miss Universe pageant is about to begin in Mexico. More than 100 contestants from different countries and territories are expected to arrive in the host country later this month. Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua will pass on her crown to the next Miss Universe at the conclusion of this year's competition on November 16. The Miss Universe 2024 final show will broadcast live from the Mexico City Arena (Arena CDMX). Meet our Top 16 pre-arrival favorites: (in alphabetical order) Chile - Emilia Dides Colombia - Daniela Toloza Rocha Curaçao - Kimberly de Boer Dominican Republic - Celinee Santos Finland - Matilda Wirtavuori France - Indira Ampiot Netherlands - Faith Landman New Zealand - Victoria Vincent Velasquez Nigeria - Chidimma Adetshina Peru - Tatiana Calmell Philippines - Chelsea Manalo South Africa - Mia le Roux Thailand - Suchata Chuangsri USA - Alma Cooper Venezuela - Ileana Marquez Pedroza Zimbabwe - Sakhile Dube Special menti
Read more

Miss International 2024: Meet the contestants

Image
The Miss International organization has officially announced the names of the contestants who are vying for Miss International 2024. A total of 75 beauties from different countries and territories are expected to compete for the coveted international beauty title. The contestants will start arriving in Japan on October 29 and will be immersed in various social, cultural, and educational activities. Reigning Miss International Andrea Rubio from Venezuela will crown her successor on November 12 at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. "Sustainability in Pageantry" will be the main theme for the 62nd edition of the pageant. This is in line with its post-pandemic advocacy "Beauties for SDGs" which started in 2022. Albania and the British Virgin Islands will debut at this year's competition. Returning countries include Argentina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, China, Germany, Ethiopia, Honduras, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Luxemburg, Romania, and South Sudan. Who will be crowned the ne
Read more

Plus-sized Sara Milliken crowned Miss Alabama for National American Miss 2024

Image
Plus-sized beauty Sara Milliken was crowned the National American Miss Alabama 2024 during the state final held on May 27 at the Renaissance Marriot in Montgomery. The 23-year-old model and mental health advocate from Atmore, Alabama is now expected to represent her home state at the National American Miss 2024 competition later this year. "This is a dream that has been 8 years in the making for me," said the new National American Miss Alabama who first joined the state pageant when she was 15 years old. After enduring bullying upon her return at the age of 16, she decided to take a break from joining for 7 years. However, this year, she mustered up the courage to give the crown another shot. "I returned to the NAM stage to prove to myself I didn't give up. I could do this. I was more than the mean things that was said to me," Sara wrote online. "I was authentically myself. I had fun. I had the most genuine smile on my face. I wasn't perfect." In r
Read more

Miss Universe Germany 2024 is Pia Theissen

Image
Pia Theissen was crowned Miss Universe Germany 2024 on Sunday, April 28 at Living Hotel de Medici in Düsseldorf. The 25-year-old social worker, occupational therapist and yoga teacher from Cologne will now prepare to represent Germany at Miss Universe 2024 in Mexico later this year. Annabelle Keller and Ilke Filiz were the first and second runners-up, respectively, while Angelina Matic, Jennifer Monreal, and Tatjana Genrich rounded out the Top 6 finalists. Miss Universe Netherlands' national director Milou Verhoeks, reigning Miss Denmark Nikoline Uhrenholt Hansen, and former Miss Universe Germany Soraya Kohlmann were among the judges. The new Miss Universe Germany succeeds last year's winner  Helena Bleicher , who participated in Miss Universe 2023 last November in El Salvador. Pia is multilingual, fluent in English, German, and Spanish. Over the past 3 years, she has traveled to more than 24 countries, making Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, and the USA her temporary home. H
Read more