Miss Earth 2008

The much-awaited Miss Earth 2008 Press Presentation may have, on the surface, seem identical to last year’s press presentation. The following basic elements were present: 1. The traditional humid weather matched with torrential downpours. The presskit of candidate photos printed on photo paper;3.

The press conference featuring the candidates in semi-formal daywear (an innovation instituted last year) introducing themselves with an environmental message (Filipino greeting optional); and4. The outdoor swimsuit group photo shoot along the hotel poolside. However, a few subtle, welcome changes actually occurred in the conduct of this year’s press presentation. To wit: 1. The torrential downpour indeed occurred during the indoor press conference, but with perfect timing, it stopped when it was time for the candidates to switch to their sky blue bikinis by Sports Armor and the noontime sun was beating down and asserting itself against the still-cloudy skies when the candidates assembled for the outdoor swimsuit group photo shoot by the poolside of Traders Hotel.2.

For the first time ever, the press presentation was held later in the middle of pageant activities instead of around the first week; with the new scheduling of the press presentation, it’s easier now for journalists to get the complete and correct roster of candidates as all were now accounted for during this year’s press presentation. Remember before, journalists would expect some late arrivals and/or no-shows from the press kit provided by Carousel Productions. The final tally this year: 85.*13.

Corollary to having the finalized roster of candidates by the time the press presentation comes in, there was finally time to assemble unified official portraits of the candidates for the press kit instead of the random assortment of photos (of varying quality) provided by the directors/candidates prior to their arrival. In fact, on top of the portraits on the presskit set on a white backdrop, there was a photo exhibit at the lobby of the press presentation featuring a differing set candidate portraits set on a dark backdrop (arguably the portraits on the photo exhibit were actually of a better quality than the presskit portraits, but both photo sets were of a unified high standard—maybe not yet Fadil Berisha level but still wonderful enough; kudos to new photo sponsor Photos du Monde).

*1 For reference, here is a tally of the number of candidates present during the press presentation in comparison to the final tally, expressed in the form of a fraction: 2001 – 36/42; 2002 – 41/53; 2003 – 50/57; 2004: 46/61 (though 48 were actually in the country by that time; two ladies were under the weather during the press presentation); 2005 – 76/80; 2006 – 73/82; and 2007 – 70/88.