By Surihe Gaomas
WINDHOEK
Dressed in a silky orange and yellow evening gown, 20-year-old Marichen Luiperd from Swakopmund stood out from the bevy of nine beauties to be crowned Miss Namibia 2007.
It was all glitz and glamour at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino on Saturday evening, where fashion, beauty and intelligence attracted an audience of over 500 people.
Amidst ululation and clapping of hands, the 1,73 metre tall Luiperd took the crown. She was regarded as the one who stood head and shoulders above the rest in all the judges’ selection criteria.
Luiperd is a graduate from the University of Namibia. She loves music, reading and going to the gym.
She had previously taken part in a number of beauty pageants and is fluent in English, Damara/Nama, Afrikaans and German.
Alongside her stood first princess, 24-year-old Christa Engelbrecht, who also won the title of Public Choice at the event. The second princess was 19-year-old Sade Gawanas, who also won Miss Personality.
The event started at around 20h30 with nine judges taking their seats. The judges faced the daunting task of selecting the winner from the 10 finalists in a closely contested affair.
The judges were specifically looking for a young woman and Namibian ambassador who projects eloquence, youthfulness, patriotism for her country, intelligence and beauty from within.
What made this year’s Miss Namibia beauty pageant special is that it was considered a celebration and therefore held under the theme ‘Women in Celebration,’ where the judges not only looked for beauty but also a young woman with charitable purpose.
The judges were looking for a young woman who is goal-oriented and able to address the plight of the less-privileged Namibians in society.
At about 21:00 the 10 finalists cat-walked the stage in various fashion outfits by local and South African designers like Wilmien Chamberlan, Gavin Rajah, Namibian Young Designers, Swimwear JBS and Design Gallery featuring Hip Hop, to mention but a few.
The blue, red and yellow lights highlighted the well-designed attires of the 10 beauties as they smiled to the audience’s applause and ululation.
To the sounds of G3 and Vm6 Entertainment bands and well-known musician Brandon October, an evening of pleasure and joy set in.
As the evening progressed and with lots of anticipation in the air came the time to select the top five finalists. They were Sade Gawanas, Christa Englebrecht, Marichen Luiperd, Lorencia Endjala and Sonja van der Merwe.
Questions were then posed to the five finalists and judging from the clapping of hands after each contestant answered a question, they all appeared to have given their best.
Last Thursday before the final day the judges had conducted interviews with all the finalists and the points scored were added to the final scoresheet.
SMS and online voting was also made available to the public to make their choice of who should be Miss Namibia 2007.
Then came the crunch time for the top three. After giving a well-balanced response to a question on the war veterans issue in the country, 21-year-old Marichen Luiperd was crowned Miss Namibia 2007 at exactly 22h30.
Soon after the crowing, family, friends and relatives congratulated the winner and the two princesses on their success.
The event also coincided with the launch of the Miss Namibia ‘Women of Excellence’ campaign, wherein women of all ages are recognised for their contribution in serving those in need.
The nine judges were Manager of Corporate Communications: Air Namibia, Elison Hijarunguru, Namibia Sales Centre Manager: Legacy Hotels and Resorts International, Daphne Martin, Manager of Sponsorships and Events: Namibia Breweries Limited Caroline Guriras, Philip Ellis of Ellis & Partners Legal Practitioners, Miss Namibia 1993/1994 Barbara Kahatjipara, Managing Director of Namibia Wildlife Resorts, Tobie Aupindi, Managing Director of Total Namibia, Mntu Nduvane, Managing Director of Aromatics Wellbeing Centre and Starlite Wholesale Prepaids Gail Joubert, and Gavin Rajah, an acclaimed International South African designer.
Miss Namibia 2007 was sponsored by Air Namibia, Total, Pepsi, Aromatics Wellbeing Centre, Hertz Car Rental, Pupkewitz Toyota, Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino, One Africa Television and Namibia Wildlife Resorts, to mention but a few.