Filipino designer Michael Cinco will be one of the judges at Miss Universe 2024 next month.
Cinco, who founded his eponymous label in Dubai in 2003, will be one of the judges picking the winner of the long-running beauty pageant, which will run between November 14 and 16 in Mexico City.
Contestants from more than 80 countries have begun arriving in the Mexican capital for preliminary rounds, with the finals set to be held on November 16, where reigning Miss Universe, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua, will crown her successor.
"I’m truly honoured to be part of the Miss Universe 2024 selection committee," Cinco tells The National. "This opportunity allows me to witness and celebrate the remarkable talents, intelligence and strength of the contestants from across the globe.
"It’s inspiring to see so many unique stories and perspectives come together on such a grand platform. Being involved in choosing a representative who will use her voice to make an impact worldwide is a privilege, and I look forward to seeing each contestant shine."
From his studio in the Dubai Design District, Cinco has dressed some of the biggest stars in the world, with his designs worn by the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, Madonna and Mariah Carey. In 2016, he made history when he became the first Filipino designer to be invited to Paris Haute Couture Week.
Besides his star-studded clientele, Cinco's dresses have appeared many times on the Miss Universe stage over the years. In 2021, he was commissioned to create the dress worn by Miss USA, Elle Smith, in the evening gown segment of the competition. Cinco also dressed two of the competition’s judges – Bollywood actress and former Miss India Urvashi Rautela and Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere – in both the preliminaries and final competition.
Miss Universe 2020, Mexico’s Andrea Meza, donned another of Cinco's custom creations as she handed over her crown to the 2021 winner, India’s Harnaaz Sandhu.
He also created the gown worn by Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach for her final walk in 2016, and for Mittenaere's final walk at the 2017 contest. Cinco's gowns have also been worn by Miss Canada, Miss Romania, Miss Argentina, Miss Uruguay and Miss Czech Republic in past competitions.
As a judge, he says he will be looking for "qualities that go beyond physical beauty". "Key aspects I’ll consider include authenticity, intelligence and purpose," he says. "I’m especially interested in seeing how each contestant uses her voice – whether she has a clear vision for the causes she’s passionate about and can articulate that with confidence and compassion."
This year's Miss Universe has scrapped many previous limitations, including age, marital status and body type for all contestants. Last year, for the first time, mothers were also allowed to participate.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
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Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
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Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
