Countdown begins for Miss India beauty contest

Mumbai, Feb 28 (ANI): It is countdown time for the Miss India 2009 pageant in Mumbai.

Sixty-five dazzling contenders appeared at an event on Friday ahead of the contest, which is to be held on April this year. The sixteen finalists will be announced on March 9.

Some of the contestants were excited and enjoying the media attention.

‘It’s the most renowned and well known contest in the country. Just being a part of it, is amazing. I really hope that I am selected. I am really looking forward to the training,’ said Ridhima Shahni, a nineteen-year-old aspirant from Pune.

These contestants are to be put through an intensive training programme to ensure that the eventual winners fare exceptionally well at international pageants.

The finalists will undergo a month-long training under the supervision of experts and professionals.

Contestants are imparted training in catwalk, skin and hair care, make-up and grooming, diet and fitness, speech and diction, workshop on Indian heritage, culture, music and art.

‘I tell them one thing, keep and maintain your Indian values and Indian culture that at end of the day when you go abroad and integrate in the modernization, globalization, you will that is what will make you the winner,’ said Marc Robinson, a contestant director.

India first won a Miss World title in 1966 with the crowning of Reita Faria. Thereafter, it took another 28 years for an Indian woman to secure another world beauty title.

In 1994, Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe crown, while Aishwarya Rai secured the Miss World title. Both are now Bollywood actresses.

Ms. Mantucket Beauty Pageant March 9

The Rotary Club of Nantucket is delighted to invite the public to the sixth annual "Ms. Mantucket" pageant on Monday, March 9, 2009, 6 p.m. at the Faregrounds Restaurant, 27 Faregounds Road. Tickets are $50 per person and will be available at Faregrounds Restaurant beginning February 23 or from any Rotarian.

"Ms. Mantucket" is a fun, locally sponsored event featuring 12 goodnatured businessmen - willing to regale the crowd with their sense of humor and "inner-beauty." Originally started by the Nantucket Students for Guatemala - as a benefit for the Gods Child Project, a day school in Antigua, Guatemala - the Rotary Club of Nantucket assumed responsibility for this event in 2008 and was able to raise more than $20,000 for the Rotary student scholarships. For more information about Ms. Mantucket and The Rotary Club of Nantucket, visit us on-line at www. nantucketrotary.org.

This event would not be possible without the support and commitment of our sponsors and willing contestants: Ms. Pudley's Pub - Bill Puder; Ms. Nantucket Independent - Dan Drake; Ms. Beauty Bar - Jeff Beamish Jr.; Ms. Vaughan, Dale, Hunter, Stetina & Beaudette - Bob Bates; Ms. Suzanne's Hair Design - Tri Gauvin; Ms. Nantucket Vineyard - Kevin Mohler; Ms. Sperry Tents - Hartley Batchhelder; Ms. Brock Insurance - Tony DiSavino; Ms. St. Peter Construction - Tristram Marks; Ms. Jordan Real Estate - Frank Hanlon; Ms. Inquirer & Mirror - Norm Berthelette and Ms. Nantucket Bank - Mark Latter. I

Tough for VN to choose representatives for int’l pageants

VietNamNet Bridge – This year, it will be a hard job for Vietnam to choose contestants for international beauty contests like Miss Universe and Miss World as the new rules only allow one national beauty contest a year – the Mrs. Vietnam pageant.

According to the regulations on the organisation of beauty contests in Vietnam, dated December 30, 2008, as of 2009, Vietnam will have only one national beauty contest, one regional, sector level beauty contest. Provincial pageants are permitted to be held every two years.

In recent years, Vietnam has had three national beauty contests: Miss Vietnam, Miss Vietnam Global and Miss Universe Vietnam. According to the new regulations, these contests will not be organised in 2009 because Mrs. Vietnam 2009 was licenced to be the sole pageant.

The Chief of the Performance Art Agency under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Le Ngoc Cuong, said the Mrs. Vietnam 2009 pageant must be licenced this year because in 2008, the government approved the Mrs. World 2009 pageant in Vietnam. Vietnam needs to hold a national beauty contest to choose a representative for the Mrs. World 2009.

Moreover, the agency received applications for organising beauty contests 2009 last October and at that time, the agency didn’t receive any application except for the Mrs. Vietnam 2009, Cuong said.

“It is quite funny that each year Vietnam will have only one national beauty contest because each pageant has its own criteria. Mrs. Vietnam is for married contestants. It will be a loss for young girls if only Mrs. Vietnam 2009 is licenced next year,” said former Chief Editor of Tien Phong Newspaper, who has been the chief organiser of many national beauty contests, Duong Xuan Nam.

The vice chief of the Performance Art Agency, Nguyen Van Khanh, suggested that the Miss Vietnam Global, Miss Universe Vietnam, etc. should change their scale from national to regional or sectoral to get a licence.

However, Duong Xuan Nam, one of the founders of Miss Vietnam Global pageant, said it is impossible to lower the scale of Miss Vietnam Global because this contest is open to contestants from home and abroad.

Respecting the new rules, the Deputy General Director of the Universe Joint Stock Company, Chi Bao, stated that the firm would not organise Miss Vietnam Universe 2009. He also said that it is impossible to change the scale of the pageant because in that case, the winner of this contest will fail to meet conditions to attend the international Miss Universe pageant.

The new rules are said will cause difficulties for Vietnam in choosing representatives for international beauty contests this year. But Cuong said: “Vietnam doesn’t need to have too many beauty contests while its organising skills are unprofessional. Moreover, not all international pageants require national-level contestants.”

At the same time, Elite Vietnam stated it would stop buying the copyright to send Vietnamese representatives to Miss World and Miss Universe 2009.

Managing Director of Elite Vietnam, Thuy Nga, said: “This decision was considered in 2008 and Elite Vietnam wants to focus on modelling.”

However, she admitted that choosing contestants for Miss World and Miss Universe 2009 will be difficult.

VietNamNet/VNE/NLD

Angolan placed third in beauty pageant in Finland

Luanda, – Angolan contestant Sílvia Daiana Alfredo Neto was placed third in international beauty pageant “Queen of Hearts 2009”, recently held in Helsinki (Finland) and participated by representatives of nine countries. 

According to a press release from the Angolan Embassy in that country, delivered to ANGOP this Monday, in Luanda, Daiana Neto, took part in the event by dressing a typical outfit of an Angolan women of the ethnic “Mumuila” group, of the southern Huila province.

The note stresses that with her choreography (comprising glass beads and skirt manufactured out of Samakata fabric) illustrating Angola’s flag colours, which are red, yellow and black, Silvia Daiana Alfredo Neto delighted the public and convinced the jury through her physical and intellectual attributes.

According to the document, with this achievement, the Angolan representative, whose victory corresponds to the category of second Lady of Honour has received a proposal to become a model.

“Queen of Hearts” is an international beauty contest that also recognises woman‘s inner beauties with the purpose of highlighting values such as good manners, compassion and trustworthiness of women of different nationalities living in Finland.

Model hopes to win Miss Galaxy UK beauty pageant

A Norwich woman is raising money for charity after getting through to the national final of a beauty pageant.

Ann-Marie Woodyatt, 29, has been named Miss Norfolk Galaxy after she entered the competition organised by Galaxy Pageants UK. The blonde model and events organiser has only been modelling for three years, and has never entered a similar competition before.

She is organising a charity ball on April 7 at Dunston Hall to raise money for Sparks, the children's medical research charity. She is involved in producing a 2010 calendar to raise money for cancer research.

She said she never thought she would have any success in the first round of the competition, which was based on sending photographs to the organisers along with information about herself. She said: “To find out I had won and had been crowned Miss Norfolk is a really big deal for me. It is amazing.”

The Miss Galaxy UK final is in Manchester on March 29. If she wins, she will be flown out to Florida for a week in July to take part in the international Miss Galaxy competition.

Tickets for the charity ball are available through her website, www.missmarie.co.uk

Miss Atom 2009: Russia's Nuclear Bombshells

Female employees from Russia's nuclear energy industry are competing for the Miss Atom 2009 title this month. The event's sponsors hope the beauty pageant will help dispel the industry's negative image.

Imagine, if you will, a bikini clad beauty queen strutting out of lake, with giant cooling towers belonging to a nuclear power facility dominating the background. Odd perhaps? Not, apparently, in Russia. There, women working in the country's nuclear industry compete for the annual title of Miss Atom.

The beauty pageant, now in its sixth year, is generously financed and well established. There are no anti-nuclear protestors who show up to sling rotten tomatoes at the contestants. Instead, it seems that this bold strategy of fusing atomic energy and Russian bombshells is just another part of life -- or at least a marvelous ploy.

"We want to show the general public that the nuclear industry is an industry like any other," Ilya Platonov, who heads up Nuclear.Ru which runs the event, told ABC News. "Ordinary people work in it, including young, attractive women."

Platonov also admits that the pageant is also an image campaign aimed at dispelling the image of a dangerous and threatening nuclear power industry.

The range of contestants for "Miss Atom 2009" is vast. Many look quite ordinary, lacking the perfect features often associated with beauty contests. Several, though, are astonishingly beautiful. In profile photos, some sling themselves across cars and desks or strike sexy poses in front of machines and oceanscape backgrounds while others wear silly hats or simply sit at office desks.

In personal statements, the ladies divulge passions for activities such as dancing, growing cactuses, travel, and sports. Some, like Julia Leonova of Siberia, add a bit more flare: "I can be a tiger, who spreads fear with a flash of my teeth, or an eagle who flies free through the sky…I can play a hundred different roles -- but choose only those I like," she writes.

Svetlana, an engineering student who goes to modeling school and won last year's "Miss Elegance" title, seems to embody winning characteristics: Her interests included fitness, hairdos and world peace. "I wish the world wasn't full of so many negative things, but rather with peace, friends and love," she writes.

In this competition, a good dose of patriotic love for the Fatherland never hurts either. One contestant sent in a photo of herself enthusiastically waving a Russian flag. Another contestant, 25-year-old Kristina Pogosjan, stated, "I don't need to go to modeling school. After all, I work for 'Atomtrudresurcy.'"

Pageant sponsors include the Atomenergoprom corporation, which was founded two years ago and has close ties with Rosatom, an agency that controls both the civilian and military branches of the industry -- and thus practically all Russia's nuclear material.

Rosatom recently announced plans to build 40 new nuclear reactors at a cost of $60 billion. With these plans, Russia will raise the share of atomic energy in its mix from 17 percent to 25 percent. The country already has 31 active reactors. The future of atomic energy in Russia seems secure.

Vietnam may not join Miss World, Miss Universe 2009

VietNamNet Bridge – Elite Vietnam has refused to repurchase the copyright to send Vietnamese candidates to the Miss World, Miss Universe 2009 pageants. This means that Vietnam may miss the two big beauty contests this year.

Elite Vietnam Managing Director Thuy Nga said the firm’s withdrawal was planned in 2008, and is not because it is afraid of the new strict rules issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on beauty contests.

Under the new rules, there will be only one national beauty contest, Mrs. Vietnam 2009. Other contests will be local-level events. Contestants at Miss World and Miss Universe must be winners of national contests.

“If we want, we can choose beauties from previous years. But this is not a good method. It’s time to solve the problem at its roots,” she said.

Miss Vietnam Global 2007 Ngo Phuong Lan, who refused twice to take part in the Miss World pageant, said that if she was invited to attend an international beauty contest in 2009, she would have to refuse because she is busy with a new job and new life in Vietnam.

The first runner-up of the Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, Hoang Yen, said she was willing to represent Vietnam at any international beauty contest.

Win! Win! Tickets to Miss India Worldwide pageant

More than 26 beauties, including Miss India SA Kasrivia Nagesar, are set to compete for the prestigious Miss India Worldwide crown in Durban this week.

The Sunday Times Extra is giving five lucky couples an opportunity to attend the Miss India Worldwide pageant and gala dinner at Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World on Valentine’s Day, February 14. To win a set of tickets, answer the following question: “Who is the SA entrant for the Miss India Worldwide pageant?”

E-mail your answer, with the subject line “Miss India Worldwide”, to kznextra@sundaytimes.co.za by no later than 12pm on Tuesday February 10.

Miss Alabama USA learned confidence in pageants

No matter the outcome, Rachel Philippona knows exactly what she wants to eat the day after the Miss USA pageant.

She’s been craving a big cheeseburger with some French fries. And after going down a list of possible desserts, sundae, cheesecake, hot apple pie, she settled on a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream.

“I would be in heaven,” Philippona said.

It was a lighthearted moment for the 19-year-old, the current Miss Alabama USA. These days, the Dothan resident is practically living at the gym, making healthy food choices and working with an interview coach to prepare for the April 19 Miss USA pageant. Philippona leaves Dothan on April 3 for Las Vegas where she will represent Alabama in the pageant.

The winner of Miss USA goes on to compete in Miss Universe.

Never big on pageants as a young girl, Philippona enjoyed being on stage in high school theater and choral productions. But she said she was still shy when it came to people. She entered her first pageant at 16, winning the 2006 Miss Dothan title. She won the essay, interview and evening gown awards. Philippona went on to win first place in the National Peanut Festival pageant. She was later crowned Miss Alabama Forestry.

The experience gave Philippona a confidence she still carries.

She and her mom, Elisa Philippona, spoke of Rachel trying for Miss USA. With her family’s encouragement, Philippona set her sights on the Miss Alabama USA title, even choosing to go to college at Troy University’s Dothan campus to stay close to home after graduating from Northview High School in 2007.

But life took a tragic turn a year ago. Elisa Philippona died suddenly on Jan. 16, 2008, at the age of 41.

“Pageants were always our way to bond,” Rachel Philippona said. “ ... That was our girly thing.”

Philippona went on with her preparations as she thought her mother would want. She said she learned a lot and grew a lot in those months before the November Miss Alabama USA pageant in Birmingham. Philippona said she knows her mother would have been proud of her.

“It was very bittersweet,” Philippona said of winning the crown. “She was the first person I thought of ... She had a very distinct cheer. I could always tell where she was in the crowd.”

But she wasn’t without support. A local committee organized to help Philippona get to the state and national pageants, and many of the members are people who are friends with her or or had known her mother. Committee member Mary Carnes was in Birmingham when Philippona won her Miss Alabama USA crown.

“It was magical ...,” Carnes said during a recent congratulations party held for Philippona. “We knew from the minute she walked on stage that she was going to win.”

While the Miss Alabama USA system designates breast cancer awareness as the pageant’s platform, Philippona said a personal crusade should she win the Miss USA title will be Special Olympics. She worked as a special education aide in high school and volunteered for local Special Olympic games.

“They teach me more than I could ever give back to them,” Philippona said.

Philippona will turn 20 on April 6 while she’s in Las Vegas competing for Miss USA. She hopes she’s a positive role model for girls and other young women. And even if she doesn’t win the crown, she knows she will have given it her all.

“Confidence is a huge thing,” she said. “Nobody’s perfect ... I’ve really learned you never know what’s possible.”

————————————
Who is Rachel Philippona?

2009 Miss Alabama USA

• Age: 19
• Born: Dothan
• Family: Father, Reinier Philippona; mother, the late Elisa Philippona; brother, 16-year-old Alex. Her family heritage is Greek.
• Education: Graduated Northview High School in 2007; Attends Troy University Dothan; Studying biology.
• Career goals: She hopes to get a master’s degree in speech pathology and work with children.
• Hobbies: Travel and cooking.

Local teen represents York Region in Canada beauty contest

Amanda Calaminici wants you to know she's more than just a pretty face.

True, the Richmond Hill teen is a beauty contest winner, and she has the kind of smile that lights up a room.

But Miss Calaminici says she, and the 15 other winners of Miss Teen Canada-World Ontario Pageant, have much more to offer than just good looks.

"Sure there's a glamourous side to it," she says of her recent crowning as Miss Teen Canada - York Region. "But there's more to it than that. All the girls are honour students, or university students, and they're talented in so many aspects."

Winning a berth amongst this talented group was a shock, the 17-year-old says. On Dec. 7, when her name was called from among 41 other teens from across Ontario, "I just froze. As much as you want to win, you really don't expect it ... I never thought that I'd get this far."

Her friends are equally excited.

"They all think it's as big as Miss America. It's not; it's a small show, really. But they're all so supportive of me."

This is just the second year for the fledgling Canadian show. The provincial competition, a Winter Carnival-themed pageant showcasing the achievements and beauty of Ontario teens aged 13 to 19, was held at the St. Lawrence Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto.

Contestants were judged in swimwear, evening gown and personal interview competitions, and performed a choreographed dance routine.

The top 16 finalists, who hail from a variety of locales including Peel, Durham and Niagara, along with York Region's Miss Calaminici, move on to represent their regions of Ontario at the Miss Teen Canada-World National Pageant this summer.

"The girls are all so nice. It's rare that you'd get 42 sweet girls all in a room together, but they were all really nice."

The contest is new to Canada, she says.

"Pageants are much bigger in the states, for some reason. They're much smaller here. And in the U.S. they ask more political questions. We just don't do that here."

The provincial contest involved a whirlwind of workshops teaching the girls how to make speeches, give interviews and walk on stage. As well, Miss Calaminici said, "everyone went to the tanning salon and had their nails done, and we had to learn the choreography."

The choreography was the easy part, she says, given that she's been involved in dance since she was three years old. "Although it was a little awkward, getting up on stage in a bathing suit," she laughs.

For Miss Calaminici, the most nerve-wracking part of the competition involved preparing for the personal interviews by judges - answering questions about time management and parental support. "They're not trying to stump you, but sometimes you freeze up."

The judges were looking for well-spoken, intelligent and friendly personalities, she said.

Her first duty, as Miss Teen Canada - York Region, was to take part in the opening ceremonies this weekend at Richmond Hill's Winter Carnival.

Miss Calaminici is a Grade 12 Arts York student, studying dance at Unionville High School. She works part time coaching gymnastics at the Academy of Sport and Fitness, is a member of the Ovation Performing Arts Academy in Richmond Hill, and was a competitive dancer for seven years at Dansecore in Richmond Hill.

"I always loved watching pageants."

She remembers enjoying the contestants' display of talents "and they were all so beautiful, and especially with Miss America, they were intelligent women too. These aren't just models. They're really talented and have intelligence."

Miss Calaminici is looking forward to the Canada-wide pageant set for July, when she will spend a week touring with the 50 contestants, and will compete for prizes in the talent segment. She is preparing a pointe solo called 'Sleeping Beauty'. Cash and prices totaling $25,000 will be awarded.

The winner will represent Canada at the largest international teen pageant - Miss Teen World.

The national contest doesn't come cheap. It will cost Miss Calaminici $2,000 to enter. She has been in contact with the Town of Richmond Hill and various local services she frequents - tanning and hair salons, manicurists and dentist - hoping to find sponsorship.

"It's not a charity, so it's difficult, especially in a recession. But anything would help."

Her long-term plans include university, and possibly more beauty pageants.

Will it help her in her career? She laughs.

"Well, it won't help me get a job, but maybe it will help me in interviews, and getting self confidence being on stage, and learning how to dress properly and speak properly.

"I guess it's a chance to see what I can do in my community, to get involved."

Anyone inquiring about sponsoring her should contact mcalaminici@live.ca. Those who wish to can vote for the People's Choice Award at www.missteencanadaworld.com.

Entry open to Miss Jamaica Universe 2009

Entry is now open to the Miss Jamaica Universe Beauty Pageant 2009. Young Jamaican women between 18 and 26 years of age are invited to apply if they have beauty of face and body, a keen awareness of the world around them and the grace and confidence to represent Jamaica at the Miss Universe Pageant. Contestants should never have been married, or had children.
April Jackson

For this, the first competition since last year's groundbreaking event, which saw April Jackson emerge the winner from 25 finalists, all the stops are being pulled to ensure that the high standard of 2008 is maintained or even surpassed. Last year's coronation show attracted more than 5,000 patrons at a sold out event, which saw new age R&B superstar Keyshia Cole perform in Jamaica for the first time ever.

Jackson won over $1 million in cash as well as a brand new BMW motor car. Clearly the 2008 event realised its target of a world-class production, thus ensuring that the local event mirrored the international pageant's pre-eminence in the world of beauty contests.

This year's planned prize package is likely to be similar to last year's, even if not exactly the same as the event's organisers seek to attract Jamaica's best talent. A show-stopping entertainment package is also in the works and more details in this regard will be announced in the coming weeks.

Now in its 57th year, the Miss Universe competition provides the opportunities for women to be personally enriched through the organisation's year-round support of all aspects of their lives, from their own personal career goals to social and humanitarian causes and work. Interested applicants to the Miss Jamaica Universe pageant 2009 should enter online at www.missjamaica universe2009.com.

Uganda: Miss India Pageant Comes to Kampala

Kampala — THE most beautiful Indian woman could be anywhere in the world. That is why the organisers of the Miss India Worldwide Pageant are looking everywhere.

The Indo-Asian community of Uganda, for the first time, will host the Miss India-Uganda 2009 pageant, under the theme: Miss India-Uganda, beauty and brains. The Warid Telecom-sponsored pageant will take place tomorrow at the Golf Course Hotel.

The winner will represent Uganda at the glamorous Miss India Worldwide pageant on February 14 in Durban, South Africa.

The Uganda event, organised by the Indian Women's Association, has attracted seven finalists.

Usha Rajesh Nair, of Impresario events, the event managers, says all contestants are girls of Indian origin and residents of Uganda.

The reigning Miss India Worldwide, Farisha, is expected in Kampala to crown the winner.

2009 Miss Taiwan Beauty Contest to be launched in April

Taipei,(CNA) - The first round of competition in the 2009 Miss Taiwan Beauty Contest will be launched in April, organizers said Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference in Taipei, Lina Pan, president of the Republic of China Beauty Consultation and Development Association, said the first round of competition is scheduled to be held at the beginning of April, while finals will take place in July at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.

"We will select suitable candidates during the preliminary stage of the contest from the northern, central and southern areas of the country," said Pan.

Aspiring contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 30, taller than 160 cm, unmarried, must never have given birth, and must have high-school education or higher, Pan said.

The organizing committee will accept registrations for the contest until March 15, she said.

"In the Miss Taiwan Beauty Contest, which is held once every two years, we are very particular about the transparency of the judging process," said Pan. The organizing committee has always done its best to make sure that the judges' decisions are fair and objective, she added.

Pan said that in light of the tight economic situation, the organizing committee has lowered the registration fee for the beauty contest from the usual NT$3,000 (US$90) to NT$1,000.

According to Pan, in a new segment that has been added to this year's competition, the contestants will be required to wear a costume that represents their own heritage.

"The costumes can range from traditional Chinese dresses to indigenous outfits," said Pan, adding that the new category was designed to promote Taiwan's rich and diverse culture.

According to the event's organizers, the winner of this year's Miss Taiwan Beauty Contest will receive a prize of NT$300,000 (US$8,892) and will have a chance to participate in local and international charity and cultural exchange events.

 

- by Luis Yu