Reigning Miss South Africa Liesl Laurie left South Africa on 19 November to compete in the 65th Miss World competition.
The Miss World will take place at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China PR on December 19.
South Africa’s Rolene Strauss will crown her successor at the end of the event.
It is the first time that Laurie has travelled out of the African continent.
Contestants arrive on November 21 and have a jam-packed schedule, competing in Miss World challenges, ahead of the grand finale.
They will be judged on tasks including top model, talent, multimedia, sports and fitness and also Beauty with a Purpose.
Laurie, the 23-year-old Eldorado Park beauty, will be representing South Africa against 123 other countries in the competition which is watched worldwide by just short of one-billion people.
At the pageant, Laurie will be wearing gowns created by Bloemfontein-designer Casper Bosman, who also designed some costumes last year
for her predecessor, Rolene Strauss.
Bosman commented on his creations, “My theme for Liesl’s Miss World collection is South African Goddess. All the pieces my team and I have created have an underlying fantasy element to them. We have played with a lot of feminine tones for all the main looks for the pageant, including the national costume, top model gown, designer of the world gown and Christmas evening gown.”
He added that he designs differently for a pageant because it is important to create a show-stopping look with a unique flair.
The designer revealed that Laurie’s national costume will be one of the most expensive ever seen on stage because he used gold and copper in the design.
Liesl believes that she is fully prepared for the pageant, “My preparations started when I was crowned Miss South Africa and I know that I am ready for the international stage. I feel confident and ready to take on whatever lies ahead. I have faith that in my 30 days in Sanya, China I will show the world the beauty of our special country. We are the country of love and ubuntu and I plan to showcase this every day.”
Liesl’s official Miss World gift is a piece of Robben Island fence where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated with a framed picture of Madiba by artist Marc
Alexander.
Details: Details: Miss South Africa www.misssa.co.za
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