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Derana Miss Sri Lanka 2011

by Omar RAJARATHNAM

The preliminaries of Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World 2011 kick started amid glitz and glamour on February 26 at the Galadari Hotel Colombo.

Over 50 shortlisted pretty and ambitious contestants walked the ramp before a judging panel of four comprising Former Miss Sri Lanka and actress Anarkali Akarsha, Derana Miss Sri Lanka 2008 Rochelle Adriana Corea, Designers Senaka de Silva and Arantha Sirimanne. Derana is hosting the pageant for the fifth consecutive year and preparations are under way to ensure a spectacular final this year too.

Twelve contestants with the hope of winning the crown will participate in the final which is scheduled to be held in May. Many mini pageants and finishing training sessions will take place prior to the final for confidence building and improve communication skills.

Girls from almost every region in Sri Lanka were shortlisted for the preliminaries and the judges claimed they had a difficult time picking the girls for the next rounds because they had a good balance of beauty and personality.

A spokesperson for Derana told the Sunday Observer that they had over a couple of hundred applications that met their criteria for participation during the initial screening process but the stiff competition compelled them to select only 65 contestants.

Many contestants said that they aspired to make it big in the modelling industry and winning the title will be an excellent launching pad for them to attain their objectives, similar to the case of the former winners. The Sunday Observer will bring you exclusive developments on the pageant which will crown the deserving beauty with the title ‘Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World 2011’.