Chelsea Manalo: Is Philippines’ bet ready to win at Miss Universe?

Two months away from the 2024 Miss Universe pageant in Mexico, just how prepared is the Philippines’ bet, Chelsea Anne Manalo, for the competition?

“I’m doing good and training really hard as well. It’s the last stretch of training that I will be doing here. And then I’m hoping everyone can support me when I’m in Mexico,” said the Miss Universe Philippines, who made “history” as the first Filipino of African descent to win the national competition.

The Tourism Management graduate revealed that former Philippine representatives, as well as Miss Universes Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray, had offered some pre-pageant advice.

“I did get a lot of advice, of course, from one of my idols, Ms. Pia Wurtzbach, Gazini Ganados, Ms. Bea (Gomez), Ms. Catriona, and of course, all of the other queens who supported me in my Miss Philippines journey,” she said.

“They are very supportive. Since the journey from when I was still a candidate for Miss Universe Philippines, I also received support from my co-candidates,” she said.

“So now that I’m competing in Miss Universe, I still get messages from them. It’s not just the support but, you know, engaging with them and being with them is also a training ground so that I won’t feel too much pressure or stress, but rather have fun with them.”

The standout advice for Chelsea is “to just have fun.”

“I mean, it’s still a competition, but it’s a competition within myself. So during the whole process, you just enjoy it, savor the moment because it’s once in a lifetime.”

Asked by The STAR about how she’s coping with the pressure from the Filipino pageant fandom, she said, “There’s always that pressure. Time will come and the pressure will kick into high gear, but at the end of the day, I’m just gonna have fun.”

“You know, people are gonna ask if I feel like I’ve already won, but sometimes it really does feel… I’m still myself. I never lose myself in the process. It’s good that now I have a team behind my back because when I was competing before, it was just me, my mom and my dad. But now I have the full support of Miss Universe Philippines.”

Chelsea teased what she will be wearing, including her National Costume, at the finals. “I’ve already been talking to the designers; it’s gonna be a collaborative work. I’ve fitted for it as well. I’m really excited for the Filipino fans and pageant fans all over the world to see the National Costume I’ll be wearing.”

The press caught up with Chelsea as she joined the fun at the birthday party of TV5’s “Wil To Win” co-host and congressman Sam Verzosa, who also co-founded Frontrow, one of the main supporters of Miss Universe Philippines.

“It’s very important for me to still engage with my friends, to be at events like this, to see people here, and at the same time, to kind of just relax. The pressure (to focus on the pageant) is gonna be there, but being around friends is also very important for me,” she said.

Asked how ready she is to possibly take home the sixth Miss Universe title for the Philippines, after Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), and Catriona Gray (2019), she said, “Let’s just say I’m excited.”

The 2024 Miss Universe pageant is scheduled to take place on Nov. 16 in Mexico City, Mexico.