Let the contest begin: 13 aspiring beauty queens chosen for the Miss Seychelles 2015 pageant

The 13 contestants aspiring to be crowned the next Miss Seychelles...Another World (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - It's the question on every contestant's lips: who will go home wearing a jewel-encrusted crown and be lucky enough to represent Seychelles in Melbourne, Australia at the 2015 Miss World beauty pageant?

The answer will surely be known on May 30, now that 13 young Seychellois ladies have taken on the challenge to contest the 2015 Miss Seychelles... Another World beauty pageant.

The aspiring beauty queens were officially presented to the local press in a cocktail event organised on Friday evening at the Boat House Creole Restaurant at Beau Vallon, a northern district of the main Seychelles island of Mahe.

The hunt to find the Indian Ocean archipelago’s loveliest young ladies to contest the pageant started in January with the organiser, the Seychelles Tourism Board, encouraging young women between the ages of 18 to 24 to apply.

Speaking at yesterday’s event STB’s Chief Executive Sherin Naiken said they received over 50 phone calls from aspiring contestants, but noted that fewer actually took the final step.

Naiken congratulated the 13 finalists for having had the courage to come forward to represent their country.

"The next three months shall be tough. But look at it from a positive angle you will be exposed to many contacts and skills," she said.

“This pageant constitutes a big investment for the STB, especially as it is part of the Seychelles experience we are trying to promote."

Beauty with a purpose

While the young ladies will be judged on a number of criteria including personal characteristics, individual talents and sporting interests, each applicant is also expected to come up with project proposals to benefit the local community, in line with the Miss World pageant’s objective of seeking ‘beauty with a purpose’.

Already the contestants have a very clear idea of what they are passionate about in order to develop their projects.

The tallest finalist, 20-year-old Petra Richard, says she is very interested in addressing the issue of drug abuse.

The self-employed fashion designer is also a keen volleyball player and is on the Seychelles national volleyball team.

For 21-year-old Nisa Larue, who told SNA that she loves to work with children and loves encouraging them to read more, is eager to focus on autism.

Linne Freminot, also 21 and working at the Seychelles Meteorological Office, is keen on developing a project to set up a recreation centre for children whose parents are in prison.

Most of the girls expressed how they have always dreamed of participating in the Miss Seychelles beauty pageant and how they have been supported by friends and family who have promised to give them their full backing as they embark on this new adventure.

The grooming begins

The 13 finalists, which include two siblings,will now be coached and trained over the next three-months prior to the night of the pageant that will see one of them taking over the crown from the reigning Miss Seychelles, Camila Estico.

Estico, who managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Miss World Talent competition in London in December last year had some sage words of advice for her potential successors reminding them that winning the pageant is not only about wearing a crown, but also being the ambassador of her country.

She urged every one of them “not to compare themselves with anyone, but instead build upon their capacity and assets.”

Estico promised to set a new trend following her participation in last year’s Miss World pageant, pledging to share the valuable experience she had gained with her successor.

Lovely young ladies from the Seychelles have been participating in the Miss World beauty pageant since 1969.

Miss Seychelles of 1998, Alvina Grandcourt, won the Miss Personality title at the awards, which were hosted by Seychelles that year.

The closest a Miss Seychelles has ever been to winning the world crown was in 1972 when Jane Stravens made it to the top 15 finalists in the Miss World pageant.