Miss Guyana/World to bring 'finesse and style' to fore By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
July 13, 2002

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`Finesse and Style' is the theme under which this year's Miss Guyana/World pageant will be held, when 12 delegates selected from five of the country's regions will vie for the coveted crown at the National Culture Centre on September 7.

The 12 contestants were expected to make their first public appearance last night when Courts and the Guyana Red Cross Society launched their anti HIV/AIDS campaign entitled `Wrap it up Every time.' The reigning Miss Guyana/World, Olive Gopaul is the patron of the campaign.

The delegates were expected to appear as guest models at the function and tonight they would be formally introduced to the media and prospective sponsors at a cocktail and reception at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Miss Guyana/World headquarters at 12 Barima Avenue Bel Air Park, artistic director/pageant coordinator, Derek Moore, said that since their selection the contestants have been briefed on aspects of make-up application, diet and exercise, confidence building and modelling skills. They also are involved in a daily exercise routine, studio work and lectures and these activities are expected to continue until the pageant night.

The Miss World franchise is held by Ken Chung, a Guyanese living in the United Kingdom, and his committee comprises Moore, Andrea McAdam, who is also one of the pageant coordinators along with Phoolkumarie Coopsammy, Christopher Goodridge and attorney-at-law Basil Williams, the committee's lawyer.

The 12 delegates were selected from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Ten.

According to Moore, sponsorship for the pageant has been going well with Boyo's Style and Fashion being a major sponsor and supplying all pre-pageant outfits at a cost to the girls' sponsors. Sacha Cosmetics is once more the official cosmetics supplier while Dalgety Teas, Colgate Palmolive, Courts and Lux have also come on board.

Sponsors will be required to pay an entrance fee of $50,000 for their contestant and this is to be placed in a special fund and used to purchase the required outfits for the queen to attend the international pageant.

Moore said as an important part of their development this year the organisers have decided that each contestant would be required to give one to three hours of her time volunteering at four non-governmental organisations - the Guyana Cancer Society, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, Help & Shelter and the Guyana Red Cross Society.

Leading up to the pageant night several events are scheduled and these include, a fashion extravaganza entitled `Made in Guyana' which will be held on August 3 at the Cheddi Jagan Resource Centre (Red House) where the talents of several local designers, including Margaux Wong, LouAnn Lewis-Jackson, Sharon Fraites and Sonia Noel, will be showcased. Tickets for that event are expected to be on sale from today at a cost of $1,000.

As was reported before, this year the swimsuit contest will be held prior to the pageant in keeping with the custom at the Miss World pageant. The show called `Guyana U Decide' will be held during the month of August where footage will be gathered and aired and the public will be able to vote for the contestant of their choice. Footage will be gathered from Whitewater Tours, Baganara Resort, Arrow Point and Splashmins Fun Park. This event will be followed by the talent competition also billed for August.

The new queen will depart for London in early October and will appear at a gala evening on October 12, in London and a charity fashion show expected to be held during the same month. The queen will check into the Heathrow Sheraton on November 1 along with 109 other contestants and will attend a royal ceremony in London on November 3 before departing for Abuja, Nigeria on November 4 where the pageant will be held on November 30.

And the reigning Miss Guyana World has moved from being a Spanish teacher at St Stanislaus College to branch manager of Sacha Cosmetics and also co-hosts a weekly sports show on GTV Channel 11.