(Seychelles News Agency) - The Miss Seychelles National Pageant will be held on December 7 following its postponement in June due to COVID-19, said Beauty Empowerment Seychelles, the organisers of the pageant.
Eleven participants will contest for the crown in the event which will be held at the International Conference Center in the capital city of Victoria, instead of at the Berjaya Beauvallon Bay hotel as previously planned.
The chairperson of the organisation, Stephanie Duval, told SNA last week that the preparations are going well despite financial challenges. “We are taking care of all the administrative side of the event so that we can be ready to tackle the technical part of the show. As for the contestants, they are excited about the event and they are taking all their last-minute training seriously,” said Duval.
With only days to go, Duval said that financial sponsorship remains a major challenge. “We are still scouting for support, and of course COVID-19 pulled us down, as we had plans to organise several activities to raise funds, which would have been to our advantage. However, we do appreciate the support we have been receiving from some individuals who are loyal to our cause,” said Duval.
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Duval confirmed that they are still waiting for support to finalise all prizes which will be awarded that night. The organisation had to also cut down on the sale of tickets to ensure compliance with health protocol concerning physical distancing. Tickets are limited to 250 people, which "is not helping us as we have a lot of overheads to cater, such as lights, decoration and is causing financial constraints on the organisation,” explained Duval.
The Miss Seychelles beauty contest was relaunched in January this year after not being held for a couple of years. The new organisers of the pageant had this year put a lot of emphasis on the academic background and this was a strong criteria for selection.
Margaret Raguin, the vice-chair of the organisation, had told SNA in a previous interview that most of the participants have a university degree, diploma or having just completed their Advanced Level studies.
"One of the requirements, when you enter such a competition, is for the person to have a strong academic level, although it does not define which level. This time around we have a group of beautiful and intelligent young girls. It could be because we hadn't had the pageant for two years, maybe this has contributed towards attracting these very good candidates," said Raguin.
The final contestants vying for the Miss Seychelles title were selected from a group of 30. They are aged 18 to 30.
