Ten contestants compete to represent Singapore at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Contributed By Terence JR Lee
Winner of the night, Valerie Lim, with Miss Lumiere Nicole de Souza (second from left).
Glitz and glamor were the order of the day at the finals of Miss Singapore Universe 2011 as 10 contestants vied for the top five spots at the Shangri-La Hotel on July 11. Guests included former winners of the competition, as well as big names in the local fashion and media industry.
Throughout the swimwear, casualwear and eveningwear categories, contestants strutted their stuff to show the judges that they had what it took to make the final five. With experienced judges like Irene Ang, chief executive officer of FLY Entertainment, Errol Pang, CEO of organizer Derrol Stepenny Promotions, and Florence Lian, managing director of Mediacorp Radio assessing the contestants, the bar was set high indeed.
With the shortlisting of the top five contestants, Shn Juay, Amanda Leong, Shanaz Nazimuddeen, Valerie Lim and Nicole de Souza, the evening’s program entered its finale—the Q&A segment. When posed with innovative questions like, “Do you think email will one day replace postal services?” and “Is it better to be born a girl or a boy?”, the contestants were initially taken aback, but quickly gathered their wits and sailed through with their answers.
The finalists were understandably emotional when the results were revealed. Second runner-up, 24-year-old PR executive Shn Juay was all smiles as her name was called, while the first runner-up, 18-year-old undergraduate Amanda Leong, teared with joy. Winner Valerie Lim, 25, a behavorial therapist, said, “No words can describe the feeling of being on stage when your name is called—that kind of joy and excitement, it’s just overwhelming.”
Lim will represent Singapore at the Miss Universe Pageant held at Sao Paolo, Brazil, this September.
Rachel Kum, winner of Miss Singapore Universe 2009, was impressed by this year’s competition. “It was great! The girls did very well, and it was a very lively experience.”
