Chronicle Editor
Tawanda Matanhire Arts Correspondent—
Glitz and glamour characteristised Miss Tourism Zimbabwe final at the Harare International Conference Centre on Friday night. Ashley Morgen was crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2016, walking away with $20 000, a car and other prizes. Nonhlanhla Dube was voted First Princess and named Miss Agro-Tourism with prize money of $10 000 while Shirley-Anne Lindsay was Second Princess and named Miss City Tourism walking away with $5 000.
Morgen was also crowned Miss People’s Choice while Memory Chapinduka was Miss Personality, getting prize money of $2 500 each. All the contestants who made it to the top 10 walked away with $1 000 each and a year’s tuition fees to further their education.
Crowning of the queen
After a hard time which made the judges take about 30 minutes break in coming up with the top seven finalists, who included Nonhlanhla Dube, Ashley Morgen, Shirley Ann Lindsay, Courtney Matende, Evermore Njanjamangezi, Chiyedza Chinake and Merelin Ngwenya, a surprise announcement of eighth contestant Kudakwashe Chabaiwa was made on second thoughts.
Three winners were to be chosen from the eight contestants.
The judges for Miss Tourism Zimbabwe were Miss Zimbabwe Trust chairperson Marry Chiwenga, former international model Jonathan Denga, Zimbabwe Agricultural Show head of marketing Cythia Tapera and business- woman Pamela Havunavanhu.
There was somehow a miscommunication between the judges and presenters which could have led to the capping of the wrong candidate. This was after the presenters opted to rearrange the contestant numbers from 1-8 in their standing order on the stage but the judges were using their allocated numbers from the beginning of the pageant.
This led to a break for deliberations to be made and correct the error.
Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2016 models were being judged for safari and evening wear from the designers. Victoria Falls-based Morgan was finally announced as the ultimate winner. She said that she was so happy because she never expected to come out tops at the glamorous pageant.
“I am at loss for words, this was the least of my expectations. I thought maybe I was going to get as far as winning Miss Personality and I really thank God for being crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2016,” Morgen said.
“I will use part of the prize money to help the girl child, especially in the rural areas where most girls go without sanitary pads. “This is a complete change to my life and I will make the best of this time as the Miss Tourism queen.”
Local designers had a chance to shine as they showcased their work dressing the models in different categories and this also revealed the rich untamed talent within the fashion industry which could be harnessed and create jobs for Zimbabweans.
Red carpet
The event started off right on time with a red carpet event which saw top-notch personalities and celebrities announcing their arrival with numerous fashion outfits as they went through interviews which were being hosted by songbird Cindy Munyavi and Herald journalist Tafadzwa Zimoyo.
Individuals or celebrity couples were escorted through the carpet, posing for pictures before entering into the well decorated auditorium.
Show hosts
Television personalities Tich Mawoni and Rebecca Muchenje looked stunning throughout the show, clad in designer wear from both international and local designers. They were the night’s hosting team.
Guest of the night
The First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe was the guest of honour and she arrived in the company of Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi together with his wife Barbara Mzembi, who is the patron of Miss Tourism Zimbabwe
The Princess of Monaco, Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittsgenstein, was was also among the top guests and her presence elated the crowd. First Family daughter Bona together with her husband Simba Chikowore also graced the event.
Business mogul and CEO of Bigtime Strategy Consultancy Mr Justice Maphosa came with his wife and his entourage of 60 business people from across Southern African and monarchs from Swaziland and Ndebele clans were part of the VIPs.
Dr Grace Mugabe, who donated $20 000 to the prize money, congratulated all the contestants for taking part in the pageant and for distinguishing themselves in the modelling field.
She urged them to stay exemplary in their career. To the crowned queen, she said the hope was to see her becoming an inspiration to every Zimbabwean girl by providing her intelligence and using her beauty for positive social and economic development.
Minister Mzembi commended the First Lady for supporting the girl child with numerous projects she is involved in, including a children’s home. “I would want to commend Dr Amai for the work that she is doing for the girl child, What you do in that children’s home symbolises the vision that is encapsulated by Miss Tourism Zimbabwe Trust,” he said.
The First Lady crowned the queen of the night with assistance from 2010 Miss Tourism Zimbabwe Samantha Tshuma.
Performances and stage work
In entertainment, it’s all about lights.
The well-lit auditorium, complemented with the state-of-the-art stage work/art and properly engineered sound made the atmosphere conducive for an exciting evening. The event was well scripted as everything was done just in time, which is unusual of most local events.
The highlight performance was from South African house music artiste Dr Malinga, who brought the house on its feet with the song “Via Orlando”.
A well-choreographed performance from Busiswa took the attention of most people, especially pupils who had their special territory from where they could be seen dancing and cheering in appreciation to the act.
Local diva Ammara Brown together with her sister Chengeto were a commendable duet as they serenaded theHICC with the hit song “Watchu Want”. Tamy also set the pace as she sang her renditions full of rich lyrical content, impressing many.
South African music performers are serious when it comes to stage performances and deserve the limelight as they left the crowd asking for more. They owned the stage every time they appeared.
Glitches for the night
The event was, however, not without its shortfalls, which included the selection of the hosting MCs. Mawoni seemed to have been learning on the ground as he at times would show signs of nervousness as a show presenter and their combination with Muchenje was not sound because they seemed to be struggling with their roles.
Muchenje would at times show that she was reading a script from the screen which when she missed led her to leave her lines hanging.
They may be forgiven because it was their first time handling such a big event. It also seemed Tamy was better off as a solo performer without the backing dancers who were somehow killing the act as they seemed overwhelmed with the audience.
Many people questioned why the organisers preferred Miss Tourism 2010 Samantha Tshuma for the outgoing queen role instead of Gamuchirai Kujeke, who was Miss Carnival 2014 since it was the same, but just rebranded pageant.
Event overview
This was indeed a world-class event which was a pull-factor for foreigners who might have watched the production from across the globe to come and witness the riches from the country as well as the untapped talent.
Miss Tourism Zimbabwe was a benchmark with which many organisations will measure the level at which they are supposed to emanate from. The level of excellence far outweighed most events that have been held in the country, especially the pageants themselves. Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2016 showed an improved brand of the pageant which was screened live on national television and other international satellite stations across the world.
Online Reporter