BY Sandra Maricho IN GWERU
All is set for the third edition of the Miss Bodylicious Zimbabwe pageant which has been slated for King Solomon’s Hotel in Kwekwe in September with countrywide auditions expected to kickstart on June.
Director and national spokesperson of Miss Bodylicious Zimbabwe Alexio Gwenzi, popularly known as Goodchild, told Standard Style that the main objective of the peagant was to celebrate the middleweight models whom they feel have been neglected for a long time.
“The objective of this year’s edition is to celebrate middleweight models who are usually left out in various beauty pageants and we saw it imperative to give them such an opportunity,” Gwenzi said.
The television personality, socialite and musician described the beauty pageant as unique from others because of its flexibility in the selection of models.
“Many beauty pageants look for slim and tall girls and the middleweights were sidelined. We believe this was a foreign initiative which was in a way too strict and we have relaxed the requirements with the age being between 18 and 28 and the contestants have to be students at tertiary institutions across the country,” he said.
The pageant is the brainchild of businessman Solomon Matsa and King Solomon Hotel is the main partner of the event.
“We have already contacted various tertiary institutions which have already confirmed their interest in the event. The programme has been running for the past three years at provincial level, but this year it will be different since it has become a national event,” Gwenzi said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“Winners will receive prizes, which include cash, but it also varies from year to year with the sponsorship we get from wellwishers.
“We are still looking for more corporates to partner with us so that the event will be of world-class quality.”
Gwenzi said they were happy with the response coming from all corners of the country.
“We are so excited with the responses we are getting from models who would like to participate and we are going to hold countywide auditions beginning with Bindura, Chinhoyi, Kwekwe, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare and Harare,” he said.
Besides celebrating beauty, Gwenzi said the peagant aims at empowering young women to help in building their confidence.
“The pageant is also about empowering models to be leaders of tomorrow building their confidence and giving them opportunities to interact and identify places like orphanages where they can be patrons,” he said.
