An evening of flowing gowns, vibrant national costumes and beauty from across the globe marked the crowning of Bea Rose Santiago from Philippines as Miss International 2013. The 53rd edition of the Miss International pageant was held at the Shinagawa Prince Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

This is the fifth Miss International title for the Philippines and the third major crown by a Filipino this year, following wins by Megan Young at Miss World and Mutya Datul at Miss Supranational.

Bea Rose Santiago was born in Cataingan, Masbate in Bicol. At the age of 15, she and her family moved to Canada where she became a model and was the only Filipino to be signed under the prestigious Elite Management.

While India’s representative Gurleen Grewal did not make it to the top 15, she displayed grace and confidence during the Swimsuit and National Costume rounds.

The winner was crowned by the 2008 title holder, Alejandra Andreu of Spain, as Miss International 2012 Ikumi Yoshimatsu of Japan was barred from crowning her successor due to her reported involvement in a media scandal. This was the second consecutive year that Japan hosted the gala.

Narrowed down from top 15, the top five comprised Hungary, Philippines, New Zealand, Colombia and Netherlands.

The list of winners are as follows…

Miss International 2013: Bea Rose Santiago of Philippines
Miss International 2013, first runner-up: Nathalie den Dekker of Netherlands
Miss International 2013, second runner-up: Casey Radley of New Zealand

The sub-contests winners are…

Miss Photogenic: Elma Segzdaviciute of Lithuania
Miss Friendship: Casey Radley of New Zealand
Miss Internet: Adela Ka-Wai Sou of Macau
Best National Costume: Erialda Croes of Aruba

Miss International began in 1960 in Long Beach, California. Under the slogans of “achieving world peace through mutual understanding” and “proper understanding of Japan in a globalized society,” the Miss International Beauty Pageant has operated to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges as international contributions.