adminAuxilia Katongomara Saturday Leisure Correspondent
THE girls are raring to go and it’s all systems go tonight at the inaugural Miss Grand International pageant at which a bevy of 16 beauties (pictured below) from all corners of the country will vie for the title. The pageant, a first in the country, is regarded as the world’s fourth biggest pageant in the catwalk competition.
For the past week, the models have been in camp preparing for the day and it’s game on tonight.
The pageant licence holder, United Nations World Tourism Organisation ambassador and former Miss Tourism 2010, Samantha Tshuma, expressed optimism that the best girl would win tonight.
“Competition is tight because all the girls are beautiful. The judges will be faced with a tough task to select the best tonight,” said Tshuma.
The pageant, a black-tie event was initially said to be a strictly-by-invitation show but the organisers have opened the doors for the public though with limited tickets.
The models are drawn from Bulawayo, Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North.
Models will battle it out in three categories namely corporate wear, swim wear and cocktail wear.
“In the corporate wear, the models will be showcasing various brands from the sponsors of the event. We are looking for a confident girl with good skin and swimwear body,” said Tshuma.
Unfortunately, to those who love to hear the bleeps and blunders by models, the question and answer segment would be done during pre-judging.
Entertainment will be provided by award winning hip-hop outfit Anti-Virus and poet Peace.
The former beauty queen won the right to host the pageant last month and preparations began in earnest. She however could not disclose the prizes for the queen. “As you know, we got the licence from Thailand last month and we have been busy running auditions and seeking sponsorship from several corporates and as such we are working on the prizes for the winner,” said Tshuma.
The pageant has adopted the “Stop the War” theme as it aims to deliver a message of freedom, peace and harmony.
The Miss Grand International finale would be held in Thailand in November. The beauty contest is a worldwide show that will see more than 50 countries from all corners of the globe taking part. The Bulawayo show will run from 4 to 7pm.
Online Reporter