Miss Tourism Bulawayo was a show to remember

Raisedon Baya
THERE was something different about this year’s Miss Tourism Bulawayo pageant. Of course the venue and the girls that lined up on the ramp were different from last year’s but there was something even bigger and more exciting in the eyes of those that braved the cold weather and forsook World Cup games to watch and cheer the 22 beautiful girls that battled it out for the few tickets to represent Bulawayo in the finals of the national pageant.

I saw pride, resilience and excitement in most eyes on the night. The night belonged to Anelisiwe Ndebele who was crowned queen and her two princesses Sibusisiwe Falala and Tendai Sibanda. These three will be at the national finals to be held in the City of Queens and Kings next month.

It was a night of beauty, fun and dance. A pageant is not usually an event to dance and jump around but Babongile Sikhonjwa changed all that. Anyway, once you walked inside the President Room at the Rainbow Hotel you quickly forgot about the cold weather outside; even the World Cup matches became too distant and a non-event.

The red carpet greeted you at the door. Slay queens and slay kings jumped on it and took as many photos as they could and immediately posted them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, announcing their arrival and presence at the pageant.

Inside the décor screamed notice me. It was a touch of class, with the VIP separated from the ordinary people. There was a touch of Thando’s Events and that familiar Saimon Mambazo set-up on stage.

For an event scheduled to start at 6pm we started an hour or so late but the wait was worth it because as soon as the event kicked off temperatures, like dew in the morning, rose from the ground to hit the roof. The girls were hot. Most of them were brainy too. And there were no embarrassing answers when question time came.

Of course what will be a beauty pageant without the famous swim wear? The girls came in one design, all in yellow. I think whoever decided the girls should wear one design and one colour is a genius and deserves some serious respect.

This is the section where each individual’s attractive traits come out. I know this is the best part for most men. They ogled and drooled, eyes glued to the ramp.

The next best moment was of course the talent segment where the girls had to celebrate some icon, local or global. This was very entertaining. The girls’ choices were also very interesting and would need a separate day for discussion and debate.

The icons celebrated on the night ranged from Maya Angelou, Beyoncé, Leleti Khumalo, Sandra Ndebele, Grace Mugabe, DJ Zinhle and Siphokazi. About five Nigerians were celebrated on the night. There were some surprise inclusion like Tinashe Tafirenyinka who is a very talented poet, but frankly speaking not yet an icon.

The model who chose Tinashe did not even know what kind of poetry Tinashe does. Tinashe is poet but not a traditional poet.

She is more of a spoken word artiste, more contemporary than what the model performed. But this was by far the most exciting segment of the evening. My favourite acts were the Leleti Khumalo, Beyonce and Maya Angelou tributes. The Grace Mugabe tribute was hilarious and it brought the house down.

The evening wear segment was good too. I loved the fact that most models were dressed by local designers. However, local designers still have a long way to give us wow designs. Some of the designs did not complement the models. Some materials were not even evening wear material. Bearing in mind that the ultimate goal for the models is to go and compete outside the country thus their look has to be international from the word go. Designers should always have this in their mind.

Away from the models the MCs did a good job. I loved the contrast between Morris Touch and Babongile Sikhonjwa. Morris Touch was cool and collected, very collected. On the other hand Sikhonjwa was Sikhonjwa. His usual self. I must say it was a show to remember and it was good to see Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda seated, relaxed and even dancing at times as the event ran.

She was at ease and this only happens when an event is well organised. Looking forward to the finals next month.