Miss Universe 2022, the 71st Miss Universe pageant, is all set to be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on 14th January 2023. Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of the event.
Just as the delegates are preparing to represent their respective countries at Miss Universe 2022, there are a few delegates who have shown immense potential even if they have not made it the seasoned hot picks lists for the crown. While not so ‘popular’, these delegates have an immense amount of confidence, perseverance, and dedication to perform well on the finale night and win placements at Miss Universe 2022.
Dark Horse candidates are those candidates about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds. In a series of features, lets know more about the Top 10 ‘Dark horse’ delegates of Miss Universe 2022.
Swelia António, representing Angola, has emerged as one of the dark horses of the competition. Swelia Da Silva Antonio is 24 years of age and hails from The Hague, Netherlands. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nonprofit, public and organizational management from The Hague University of Applied Sciences. Swelia went on to earn her master’s degree in public administration from the International Institute of Social Studies of the Erasmus University Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Angola last placed in 2011 where Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011. Since then, the country has not won a placement at Miss Universe. For Swelia, it’s a tough beat to follow in the footsteps of Leila, but she sure has shown potential to atleast win a placement for her country in the newly acquired era of Miss Universe under JKN Global Group. She is also training under the leadership of Leila Lopes which could lead to a favourable outcome for Angola.
Swelia also holds pageantry experience as she was selected as a Miss Africa Netherlands 2017 candidate but she was not able to participate in the competition. In 2020, she was crowned Miss Supranational Netherlands 2020 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She represented the Netherlands at Miss Supranational 2021 on 21st August 2021 in Nowy Sacz, Malopolska, Poland and finished in the Top 12.
Swelia has also served as an ambassador of education for the Black Ladies Talk organization. The environment, sustainability and the preservation of ecosystems are themes close to her heart. Through her national costume as well, Swelia will remind the Universe of Mother Nature's greatness. She will surely be a strong contender at Miss Universe 2022.