Selecting the best among the best

Nipuni WIMALAPALA

Crowning two beauty queens of different titles on the same stage at the same night would undoubtedly be a memorable moment for Sri Lankans. It is going to happen for the first time in Sri Lankan history today at the Galadari hotel, Colombo.

Biona Ms. Sri Lanka for Ms. Tourism Queen International 2012 and Mrs. Sri Lanka for Mrs. Asia International 2012 would be crowned tonight.

The competition's mini pageant was held on June 2 and 12 beauties will compete for the Ms title while eight charming women will compete to be crowned with the Mrs title.

Apart from the two main categories, another category called Mrs. Classic who will also be selected. The winner for this event will be chosen from the women who are competing for the Mrs. title.

The National Director of these two beauty pageants is R & V Entertainments head Vasana Danthanarayana. A well known model of the country's beauty industry, Vasana said, " Our participants are well trained. All of them are equally talented, confident and good looking. So the judges will have a hard time picking the winners. We are seeking to pick the best from each category," she said.

Ms. And Mrs. Photogenic , Ms. And Mrs. Skin and Body Beautiful, Ms. And Mrs. Personality and Ms. And Mrs. Talent have been selected during the mini pageants. A specialty of the event is that all the participants don national costumes. Even in the international pageants, their official dress will be the Sri Lankan national costume since the team's purpose is to represent the Sri Lankan culture.

Ms. Tourism Queen International 2012 will be held in China in November where contestants from more than 125 countries will be taking part. Mrs. Asia International 2012 will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the participation of Asian countries.

"We welcome girls from outstation. We do not have an official language for the event. If we stick to English, girls from outstation will not apply for the competition. Even countries like China and Bulgaria have given priority to their mother tongue," Vasana explained.

The pageant is supported by the Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau, Industry Ministry, Sri lankan Air Lines, ITN and ANCL. Vasana also conveyed her gratitude to official dressmaker of the pageant Micheal Wijesuriya, official beauty partner Ramani Salons , dress material suppliers Craft Lanka - Western province, official flower decorations provider Nethma Flora and Hotel Galadari for all their support.