PAGEANT Circle

Our top choice for the 69th Miss Universe Best in National Costume is Nicaragua's Ana Marcelo. Her costume “La Gritería en Leon” designed by Jorge Salazar Caliz represents the joy and hubbub experienced every year during “La Gritería” festival, an important celebration in Nicaragua that best portrays its national identity. Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Yastremska and Nepal's Anshika Sharma came in second and third places, respectively, while Finland's Viivi Altonen and Malaysia's Francisca Luhong James completed the Top 5. Photo: Benjamín Askinas / Miss Universe Organization

Our top choice for the 69th Miss Universe Miss Photogenic is the beautiful 23-year-old entrepreneur from South Africa, Natasha Joubert. Russia's Alina Sanko and Thailand's Amanda Obdam came in second and third places, respectively. Photo: Hanri Human Photography

Our top choice for the 69th Miss Universe Top Model is the 24-year-old model from Jamaica, Miqueal-Symone Williams. Canada's Nova Stevens and Curacao's Chantal Wiertz came in second and third places, respectively. Photo: Benjamín Askinas / Miss Universe Organization

Our top choice for the 69th Miss Universe Best in Evening Gown is Thailand's Amanda Obdam. The 27-year-old glided with class and poise in her “Fireworks Embellished Two-Piece Gown” by Valentier. Puerto Rico's Estefanía Soto Torres and Dominican Republic's Kimberly Jimenez came in second and third places, respectively. Photo: Benjamín Askinas / Miss Universe Organization

Our top choice for the 69th Miss Universe Best in Swimsuit is the statuesque beauty from Puerto Rico Estefanía Soto Torres. Thailand's Amanda Obdam and Brazil's Julia Gama came in second and third places, respectively. Photo: Benjamín Askinas / Miss Universe Organization

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