Cairns City in Australia wants grand reception for Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray
And they say Filipinos love to claim things.
There are already plans of a grand reception for Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, not just in the Philippines, but in Cairns, Australia.
In an article published by The Cairns Post on Tuesday, it states that the city plans to celebrate the Filipino-Australian’s win with a mayoral reception.
According to Cairns City Mayor Bob Manning, the city council holds the grand reception for “local people who have achieved world championship status.”
“This is yet another wonderful Cairns success story,” Manning told The Cairns Post, as reported by ABS-CBN News. “We’re all incredibly proud of Catriona; she’ll always be a Cairns girl at heart and we support her all the way.”
“We would look at holding a similar event for Catriona if we were made aware of an impending visit to Cairns,” Manning stated, the same report added.
READ: Aussie tabloid claims Catriona Gray, calls her ‘Miss Queensland’
The beauty queen grew up in Cairns, Queensland, Australia and was born to a Scottish-born Australian father, Ian Gray, and a Filipino mother, Normita Magnayon. She moved to the Philippines after graduation from Cairns’ Trinity Anglican School in 2011 to pursue a modeling career.
Miss Australia Francesa Hung, who made it to the Top 20 during the Miss Universe 2018 coronation ceremony in Bangkok, also spoke up about Gray who she considered her “biggest threat” during the pageant.
In a live interview on the Australian TV program The Morning Show, Hung said that during off-cam moments, Gray is “just like any other Aussie girl.”
“She grew up in Australia, so she has the same sort of values and ideals. She was born for this role,” the 24-year-old said. “She is a well-brought-up pageant girl, so she is going to be an amazing spokesperson for Miss Universe,” Hung added.
Meanwhile, an Australian tabloid went viral in the Philippines after it published a story about Gray on Monday where it called her “Miss Queensland” instead of “Miss Philippines.”
The Courier-Mail, a daily tabloid owned by News Corp. Australia, published the story on its front page where the word “Philippines” was crossed out in red, sparking fury among some Filipino netizens. The tabloid posted the front page on its official Twitter account too.
Gray rarely talks about her Australian heritage in interviews and identifies as Filipino in public. She even credits her fans in the Philippines for her win.
In her official Twitter page that has over 390,000 followers, she says in her bio that she is a “proud Pinay.”
