Wareus rooting for Miss Botswana

By Sharon Mathala - September 29, 2017 138 0

Wareus rooting for Miss Botswana

In an exclusive interview with Voice Entertainment, Miss Botswana 2010, Emma Wareus advised this year’s Queen to be ‘original’.

The 2017 edition of the national beauty pageant took place this Thursday (the day after going to press) at the University of Botswana (UB) indoor auditorium.

The winner would do well to follow Wareus’ advice.

The 27-year-old backed up her Miss Botswana success with a second-placed finish at the 2010 Miss World competition, missing out on the title by just half a point.

It remains the highest placed finish by a Motswana Queen at Miss World.

Speaking from her Washington DC base in USA, Wareus told Voice Entertainment she was in the country two weeks ago, where she had the opportunity to visit the Miss Botswana top 12 contestants at their boot camp.

“The only thing is to be original. You have to be yourself. I mean it is the same with winning the Miss Botswana title, though it comes on a smaller scale. When she ultimately gets to the world stages, she will be judged from the minute she gets off the plane,” Wareus said.

The Gaborone-born, brown-eyed beauty explained that self-belief played a big part in her journey to the top.

“Self-confidence is key. You do not have to have the best shoes or a designer dress; you just have to be true to yourself – that is what the judges are looking for. They know that in other countries, especially African countries, there is a lack of funding – so designer clothes do not really matter,” insisted the 2010 Miss World Africa titleholder.

Wareus, who eventually plans to relocate back to Botswana, where she intends to become active in politics, encouraged Batswana to support their Queen, noting that having the country’s backing helps with self-confidence at the world stages.

The bubbly Beauty Queen further suggested that the pageant’s licence holders, BCW, should consider commercialising the event.

Casting her mind back seven years ago, to the time she came agonisingly close to being crowned Miss World, a nostalgic Wareus said, “I lost by half a point, but the organisers have been so good to me that the same opportunities that Miss World had, I got those perks too.”

Miss World 2017 marks the 67th edition of the international pageant and will be held on 18 November at the Crown of Beauty Theatre, Sanya, China PR – the same venue Wareus was crowned Miss World first runner-up all those years ago.

Meanwhile, the build-up to Thursday’s event was undermined by confusion over whether last year’s Queen, Thata Kenosi, would be present to officially handover her crown, as is tradition.

On Sunday, four days before the pageant, via her official Facebook page, Kenosi dramatically announced she had relocated to England to further her studies.

Kenosi followed up that bombshell with a post on Monday which read: “I know a lot of people are wondering who’s going to crown the next queen this Thursday and I’m also wondering too.

It is within my interest to crown my successor, Miss Botswana 2017/2018. Hopefully, the Miss Botswana Organisation & the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Cultural Development will accept my request to travel back to my beloved country to handover my crown as a closing to my chapter as Miss Botswana 2016/2017.”

https://thevoicebw.com/wareus-rooting-miss-botswana/