BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
A BEVY of models drawn from Harare Metropolitan, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and West provinces who qualified during the Miss Tourism Zim casting segment troops into bootcamp at a local hotel today ahead of the provincial final selection set for this Saturday at Spin Village, Rainbow Towers, in Harare.
The pageant’s provincial finals will be held under the theme Empowering the Girl Child through Tourism, while the grand finale to choose the country’s top tourism ambassador will be held later this month.
Licence holder of the four provinces, Mercy “Catwalk” Mushaninga, told NewsDay Life & Style yesterday that preparations for the pageant were going according to script and promised a red carpet event.
“We are happy that our 26 aspiring contestants from the country’s four provinces will be in bootcamp that commences tomorrow (today) until Saturday. I believe they will do their best in bootcamp to fight for that sole ticket to represent their provinces at the grand finale,” she said.
“The girls are ready and raring to go. We have been doing their wardrobe check before they come into bootcamp. They are also going to mix and mingle with the judges so that the judges can know them better in terms of sociability ahead of the main event.”
Mushaninga said there will be pre-judging at a talent event that will be attended by the invited guests on Saturday, ahead of the main event.
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“As part of the bootcamp activities on Friday, (tomorrow), the models will take part in the national environment cleaning exercise from 8am to 10am in the central business district in response to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call when he declared the first Friday of every month as the National Environment Cleaning Day,” she said.
“Miss Tourism Zimbabwe is a pageant which is not only about beauty, as it also seeks to find a true tourism ambassador for Zimbabwe and to promote projects for the girl child. So, the contestants must always adhere to good ethics in order to make the profession respectable.”
Apart from the modelling extravaganza, there will be lots of entertainment from afro-jazz songstress Diana “MaNgwenya” Samkange alongside Baka Ngwasuma and Ishan, among other performers.
As tourism has been incorporated into the pageantry, the contestants for MTZ pageant do not necessarily have to be tall and slim, as was previously the tradition.
