By Jasmaine Payne

(Photos by Adrian Narine)

RADIO personality Nuriyyih Gerard was on Friday night crowned Miss World Guyana 2016 at the Parc Rayne (Rahaman’s Park) at Houston, EBD shortly after wowing the crowd with her spirited sentiments of why she deserved the win.

Though the question segment did not give the contestants’ their final tally of points, the 24-year-old Nuriyyih’s short, quick but eloquent response convinced even the crowd -– who gave her a standing ovation — that she was the woman for the crown indeed.

“I deserve to win because I am a confident, altruistic Guyanese, and I will work alongside public and private sector bodies and civil society members to promote good mental health; thus dedicating my energies toward the happiness and prosperity of Guyana,” Nuriyyih said.

Perhaps it was the borrowed line from the National Pledge added to the nostalgia of all the patriotic celebrations of our Independence that made the crowd cheer so lustily. But outside of that, it was Gerard’s poise and confidence — despite public criticism of her size and other negative comments — that outshone the others, added to the fact that she was the best candidate on stage.

Nuriyyih also won the Talent Segment for her original song “Hope”, and was second runner-up in the Fitness Segment as well. Her Beauty with a Purpose platform is Mental Health Awareness.

The seven contestants had competed among themselves over the last few weeks in the Top Model, Multimedia, Professional Interview, Fitness, Talent, and Beauty with a Purpose segments, and had accumulated points towards their final score. The final set of points was awarded in the Evening Gown segment, after which all the scores were tallied to arrive at a winner.

Najuma Nelson was crowned ‘Second Princess’ (second runner-up), while Treasure James was crowned ‘First Princess’ (first runner-up). These three finalists were easy favourites throughout the show, which perhaps made it easy for the crowd to be pleased, no matter the winner.

For the Evening Gown segment, all seven ladies wore gold-accentuated dresses, in keeping with the theme of the Golden Jubilee, but it was Treasure James’s gown which awarded her the first prize in that category. Her gown was a long, body hugging ensemble designed by the House of Pearson. The dress itself was eye-catching, but it was the details of the train — which when opened revealed black prints identical to the hide of a jaguar — that wowed the judges.

Treasure also won the Guyana360 People’s Choice Award, while Najuma won the Interview Segment and placed second in the Beauty with a Purpose Segment.

The first Prize for Beauty with a Purpose went to Marva Langevine, whose Platform focused on “Providing coping mechanisms to help children grieving for a lost parent.” Texas-based Guyanese Divya Yabindranauth won the Multimedia, Miss Photogenic and Missosology People’s Choice Awards, and also placed third in the Beauty with a Purpose Segment. Ashmini Ramnauth won the Top Model Segment.

The event started at 19:00hrs and was over in two hours. With short cultural presentations and the talent performances cut short, the show seemed somewhat rushed. This could arguably have been seen as a good thing, but at the end of the show, some persons were heard mumbling on their way out that the short programme was not worth the cost of the tickets.

As Nuriyyih embarks on her journey, she has big shoes to fill, with the last two Miss World Guyana queens having brought home major prizes for the country. Nuriyyih replaces Lisa Punch, who represented Guyana at the Miss World 2015 Pageant in Sanya, China. Lisa won the Talent Segment in that international competition, placed second in the Multimedia Segment, and fourth for her Beauty with a Purpose project. Lisa’s Beauty with a Purpose, Prevention of Teenage Suicide, has since raised G$4 million.