It was a night of elegance, charm, sophistication and intense competition as the curtains came down on the Miss Universe Guyana 2016, with Soyini Fraser walking away with the coveted title.
The Hits and Jams Entertainment employee outshone the 13 other delegates when the finals of the highly anticipated event was held in the well illuminated and decorated grand ballroom of the Marriott Hotel.
Fraser was undoubtedly one of the front runners from the inception; she however sealed the deal in the question and answer segment on Saturday evening.
On point, pure perfection and intelligent are words to describe the 28-year-old as she answered the questions thrown at her. Her six years pageant experience definitely contributed to her confidence and the way she presented herself as a confident, beautiful young woman.
The Miss Universe Guyana title has now been added to her long list of accolades and titles which also include, Miss Grand International, Miss Earth, Miss Jamzone International, and Miss United Nations.
She will head to the Philippines to represent Guyana on the international stage with one goal in mind – to be crowned Miss Universe – when the competition is held on January 1, 2017.
The pageant, though spectacular, started at least 90 minutes behind schedule with the Guyana Police Force steel orchestra performing the National Anthem.
This was immediately followed by the introduction segment which was accompanied by thunderous applause as the audience rooted for their favourite delegate. Dressed in simple cream coloured gowns the delegates gracefully walked the stage and eloquently introduced themselves.
The final ten was then announced by the emcees – deputy mayor of Georgetown, Sherrod Duncan and radio personality, Alana Bose.
Making the top ten were Ashley John, Rafieya Husain, Ayana Whitehead, Soyini Fraser, Melissa DeFretias, Ariella Basdeo, Denisha Rogers, Iman Jaisingh, Odessa Grogan and Xamiera Kippens.
As the night progressed, the top delegates then reappeared on stage for the swimsuit segment. For this, they were decked out in two-piece swimwear in three colors – blue, pink and red. It was this segment that provided the opportunity for the beauties to flaunt their curves and grooves.
After an amazing display of grace, poise and physique, the top ten delegates went back to prepare for the highlight of the evening – the Evening Gown segment.
This segment was classy and mesmerising.
Although there was no award for best gown, the audience felt that Ashley John, Soyini Fraser and Melissa DeFretias wore it best. Although Husain’s was unique, it was not a popular style.
After the evening gown segment, the judges took some time to tabulate their scores to be able to reveal the final five. After some time the names of five delegates were announced.
They were Soyini Fraser, Rafieya Husain, Ashley John, Ariella Basdeo and Ayana Whitehead.
After the disappointing response to the final questions by some of the delegates, it all boiled down to Fraser who wowed the judges and the audience with her intelligence and knowledge of current affairs.
In addition to the crown, Fraser was given the prize for the best talent.
Coming in as first runnerup was Rafieya Husain who would have also secured the award for best interview, while the second runnerup position went to Ariella Basdeo who copped the prize for beautiful heart.
Ashley John who was awarded the prizes for elegance and popularity was adjudged the third runnerup and Ayana Whitehead was adjudged the fourth runnerup position.
In addition, the Miss Congeniality prize went to Malika Russell, while the fitness model prize was won by Xamiera Kippens.
The elegant event was graced with the presence of Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, Telecommunications Minister, Cathy Hughes, Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green and other dignitaries including the Diplomatic Corp.
