Mrs Gibraltar Joely Ann Borda in Mrs Universe top 25

Sofia, Bulgaria was the chosen venue for the Mrs Universe 2022 World Finals, with Mrs Udmurtia chosen as Mrs Universe, with five runners up from the 120 ladies from across the globe taking part.
Joely Ann Borda, Mrs Gibraltar, competed in the pageant at the National Palace in Sofia.

During the pageant she joined in the national costume competition amongst the contestants.

“I was so impressed with the beautiful costumes coming out on stage, many of them were so large and colourful,” Mrs Borda said.

“We all paraded on stage like that on the first night and already the judges were choosing finalists.”

She said the exercise was repeated on the second day and later that evening, when they all lined out again in their evening wear, that’s when the top 25 Mrs were announced.

“I was the second one to be called out and it took me by surprise.”

Mrs Borda came 22nd out of 120 contestants in a pageant.

“Yes, there were some countries, like India, Russia and some others who were represented by up to five Mrs from different parts, states or regions of their countries,” she said.

Mrs Gibraltar said the whole experience was better than she thought it would be and was impressed with the organisation and tours the ladies were taken on, visiting the most important churches in Sofia as well as the event’s sponsors, such as beauty outlets, sports shops and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

She also said she really enjoyed her time there, enjoying the cuisine and the different meats, vegetables and spices.

Another highlight for Mrs Gibraltar was the fact that there was no interview round as such – not surprising with 120 contenders to get through – but she and a few others were singled out to chat to the presenters and she appeared on Bulgarian TV.

She also presented a well-received video which related to domestic violence.

Did she get to make friends with a few contestants?

“Yes I did, especially from Kazakhstan and Namibia who spoke English, and Mrs Venezuela who spoke Spanish of course.”

“I was impressed also with a number of contestants who attended with teams of four or five, including directors, make-up artists, hair stylists and others,” surprisingly, Joely explains, some coming from what we assume to be less affluent countries.

Her partner, Hamish, was there in Sofia with her to keep her company but, she laughs, he kept away from the make-up and hair tongs.

So what’s now in store for ambulance crew member, Mrs Gibraltar 2022?

Well, she will continue to be involved in local charity work and assist the Ideal Productions team with their recruitment campaign for the next Mrs Gibraltar Contest.

The recruitment campaign for Mrs Gibraltar 2023 is currently open and the closing date is Sunday, March 19.
The competition is open to women with children over 22 years of age or married, in a relationship, separated, divorced ladies between 25 - 49 years of age who do not have children.
For more information they can email mrsgibraltar@gmail.com or visit the website www.idealproductionsgibraltar.com