Miss Zimbabwe Grand pageant to be held online

Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Correspondent
THE revamped Miss Zimbabwe Grand pageant scheduled to take place at the Zimbabwe College of Music in Harare on August 1 is set to be streamed live online and the national broadcaster, ZBCtv.

The annual pageant which is in its third edition, was previously known as Miss Harare Grand before an appeal by models to make the contest a national one.

This year’s edition will see 30 contestants taking to the ramp and the winner will walk away with US$1 000 while first princess and second princesses will receive US$600 and US$400 respectively.

Some of the contestants are Bulawayo’s Ellaine “Ginger Ellie” Ncube the reigning Miss Curvy Varsity, Patience Nomazulu Gumbo who is Miss Zuri Zimbabwe, Gamuchirai Munyoro — Miss Tourism People’s Choice and Kimberly Mayoyo, Miss UZ finalist.

Director of the pageant, Mashmac Machena said: “The pageant started in 2018 but we had our first show in 2019 as Miss Harare Grand. After the successful hosting, we started receiving requests from models from other provinces to make it all inclusive and that’s when we decided to host one grand show that would include all provinces.

“Our pageant seeks to identify models who have talent but don’t have resources as our aim is to produce world-class models that can go on and showcase their talents on international stages.”

The lady who is crowned queen will go on to represent the county at the Miss Pan African Queen contest slated for November.

“Due to Covid-19, we had to hold our auditions online and the show will also be held virtually. The final was supposed to be held at the Harare International Conference Centre but because of the pandemic, we’ve had to downsize and host it at the Zimbabwe College of Music.

“There’ll just be the models, judges, journalists and a very small audience if everything goes according to plan.”

The reigning queen, Natalie Kaondera is expected to crown her successor. — @mthabisi _mthire.