Nikki de Moura aces 30-second Q&A, attends welcome dinner for Miss Grand International 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Miss Grand Philippines 2023 Nikki de Moura confidently answered the 30-second question-and-answer challenge and joined the highly anticipated welcome dinner in Hanoi as part of the activities of Miss Grand International 2023. 

De Moura was asked: "How do you feel intimidated by the word 'Front-runner' and how do you approach it to make yourself able to defeat the 'Front-runner'?"

The Filipino-Brazilian beauty from Cagayan de Oro was calm and collected when she answered the question. 

"No, I do not think that front-runners do intimidate me because I believe that your biggest challenge is yourself. Your biggest competitor is yourself and I believe it's just the whole meaning of life — to really learn more about yourself and to see how far you can go. And I think, about the frontrunner, it's beautiful. You can learn from them so I don't think it's a challenge or intimidating. If you look at it in a positive way, it can really be beautiful to learn from different cultures and backgrounds," the beauty queen said. 

Apart from her confident answer, De Moura also looked stunning in a creation by Filipino designer Gian Henderson as she strutted the red carpet on her way to the much-anticipated welcome dinner last night. 

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The ALV Pageant Circle recently held a send-off party at the Savoy Hotel Manila for De Moura before her departure to Hanoi for the Miss Grand International (MGI) 2023  coronation night.

Pageant enthusiasts believe the Filipino-Brazilian beauty may, finally, win the Philippines the elusive golden crown.

Last year's representative, Roberta Angela Tamondong, was elevated to a 5th runner-up position from her Top 20 placement. The closest that a Filipina got to the crown were in the years 2016 and 2020, when Nicole Cordoves and Samantha Bernardo both won as 1st runners-up — Cordoves to Ariska Putri Pertiwi of Indonesia and Bernardo to Abena Appiah of the United States.

In recent years, pageant aficionados have observed that one of the ways to win a spot in the semifinals is through the pre-arrival dinner poll, where the highest votes from five countries will join a special