Preparations for the Miss Global Beauty contest, a new beauty pageant in Rwanda are underway, to select Rwandan girls for international beauty pageants in 2021.

Organised by Embrace Africa in Rwanda, the pageant aims to give contestants a platform to compete at different beauty contests around the world.

According to the organisers, a total of 98 young women from different parts of Rwanda registered for the competition but only 33 were able to meet the criteria in a selection process that was done online via www.mni.rw due to the ongoing pandemic.

Out of the 33, the top 25 will also be selected through online voting which runs until June 3, after which they will progress to the pre-selection stage.

"This competition brought together contestants who have been to different beauty pageants and their experience in beauty contests makes ours a tough one,” said Paulette Ndekwe, country representative of Embrace Africa.

She added that the competition will follow the international beauty pageant format, such as the long gown, mostly known as the evening gown, as well as the beauty and brain aspect.

"The uniqueness of this beauty pageant is that it gives more young women a platform to represent Rwanda at international beauty contests, as this is a global beauty platform they cannot afford to miss,” she said.

Being a global beauty platform, Miss Global Beauty Rwanda will recommend the top five contestants from the competition to different international beauty pageants to contest in their competitions.

At the ceremony, the beauty queens will be recognized with prizes that will soon be communicated.

This season’s winners will also have the opportunity to represent Rwanda in the following contests: Miss Tourism Global, Miss Africa Golden, World Top Model, Miss Tourism World, and Miss Glamour Faces World.

22-year-old Yvette Mukamwiza is among the contestants vying for the crown at the Miss Global Beauty contest, which would be her second, having pocketed Rwf4.7m ($5,000) after her ‘Digital blind stick’ project earned her the Miss Career East Africa 2019 crown.

"The crown I took home in 2019 wasn’t about beauty and it gives me the courage and confidence that I can use the experience I got in the contest and replicate it to win the Miss Global Beauty Rwanda crown,” said Mukamwiza

Stella Matutina Murekatete, another contestant said, through Miss Global Beauty Rwanda, she could finally live her dream of becoming a beauty queen at a beauty contest.

"Since my childhood, I liked beauty pageants, and finally, here I am. This is an opportunity for me to show what I am capable of. I hope to win the crown and represent my country internationally,” said Murekatete.

"I am giving my all in every activity I am are required to do, and I will try to do the best I can till the end,” she vowed.

Voters will be charged a minimum of Rwf100 which can be paid via MTN Mobile Money, SPENN or Visa Card to vote for their favourite contestant.