Patrons can expect “energetic, exciting and entertaining performances” and “appealing and provocative” swimsuits when eight women compete to become the 60th Miss SVG on Saturday at Victoria Park.
The show will also see contestants performing their talents in a different order than all of their other appearances, “to present a sensible mix and a varied segment”.
“There will be so much going on at Victoria Park that no one in SVG can afford to stay at home and miss all this action! Residents from the various areas we look forward to seeing you. You need to shout for your home queen,” chair of the Beauty Shows Committee of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) Cheryl Rodriguez told the media on Tuesday.
(Follow #MissSVG2015 and #VincyMas2015 for IWN updates during Saturday’s show)
“In relation to our readiness to stage Miss SVG 2015, we are happy to report that the stage at the park was in place from last week and we were able to practice on the big stage from Tuesday May 19th,” she said.
The eight contestants in the pageant are:
- Miss French Verandah Precious Abraham of New Montrose
- Miss Metrocint General Insurance Co. Ltd., Melicia Antoin of Clare Valley
- Miss Lotto Vickeich Charles of Spring Village
- Miss Agricultural Input Warehouse, Chantal Dells of Vermont
- Miss Mustique Co. Ltd., De Yonte Mayers of Victoria Village
- Miss Play 4 Deshia Murray of Fitz-Hughes
- Miss Dipcon Engineering, Donna Nelson of Green Hill
- Miss LIME, Anika Robinson of Lodge Village
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They will make five appearances in the show, beginning with the introductory appearance in costumes.
Rodriguez said that while this appearance will not be judged, “patrons can look forward to an educational and historical display in this segment.
“The stage and set design will be magical and the appearances appealing and captivating,” she said.
The four judged appearances are: swimsuit (25 points), talent (20 points), evening gowns (25 points) and interview (30 points).
“The swimsuits are appealing and provocative and they will be a first this year. Watch out for this segment!” Rodriguez told the media.
She said that the talents performance which were presented to the Board of the CDC on March 19 at the final selection process are the ones which were practiced during the past 10 weeks and will be presented on stage on Saturday.
Contestants will appear in alphabetical order in the introductory, swimwear, evening gown and interview segments, while in the talent segment, the order will be 3,5,2,6,1,7,4, and 8.
Rodriguez said that the Beauty Shows Committee will inspect the evening gowns on Friday and backstage pre-judging of the evening gowns in the dressing room on hangers on the night of the show will be done to look for neatness and finish.
“We encourage and train contestants to ensure that their answers to questions in the interview segment are creative; that they answer the question and focus on the important subject. All contestants are full of confidence and we expect them to do well in this area,” Rodriguez said.
She said Miss SVG is a child-friendly show and parents can bring their young daughters and sons to the park for an evening of entertainment.
“We are aware that the little ones are already dreaming of participating in MISS SVG in the near future,” she said.
The winner of the show will be the 12th recipient of a university scholarship from the Government and people of SVG, valued at EC$80,000 and tenable at the University of the West Indies.
The winner will also receive EC$8,000 from the CDC, and gifts from various business houses, and will represented SVG at in the Miss Carival pageant on July 3 at Victoria Park.
The first runner-up will receive EC$5,000 from the CDC and gifts from various business houses.
The second runner-up will receive EC$3,000 from the CDC and gifts from business houses.
The five remaining contestants will receive EC$1,000.00 from the CDC and gifts from business houses.
The featured artiste at the show will be Trinidadian Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc.
Am I the only one who believes that these beauty contests are degrading to women by defining them mainly as objects of sexual attraction?
We have far more such contests in relation to our population size than any of the developed countries, more and more of whose citizens view them as devaluing the role of women in society.
These contests also serve to divert attention from the poor quality of social, economic, and infrastructure services in our country which is why the politicians love to fund them.
I also believe there is a direct connection between the symbolism of these contests and the low status that women still have in our country, manifested most dramatically in our high rates of sexual exploitation, abuse, and assault.
Scholarships should be granted solely on the basis of scholarship and need, not on whether you have a pretty face, smooth skin, slim waist, shapely breasts, and a nice batty.