It is Lorrain Marriot at Miss Universe

It was an event that kept the social media a buzz as they looked forward to seeing the girls do their thing on the ramp.

The scene this time around was the King Solomon Hall where 10 contestants who had gone through the vetting process lined up.

In the continued absence of the Miss Tanzania beauty contest, the ninth edition of Miss Universe Tanzania was set to give revellers something slightly different on the menu .

The 10 contestants had been mainly scouted from Dar es Salaam and the major cities in Tanzania.

In their midst was former Miss Earth Miriam Odemba who had flown all the way from Paris, France to be the judge for the event which has produced famous models including Flaviana Matata.

The recent political events in the country had left many in the hunt for political camps and therefore there weren’t many social events.

Despite having spent only three weeks to prepare the contest the quality of organisation was acceptable by many revellers.

“It was a good show despite the organisers spending very little time for preparations,” said Nasha Omary, a reveller who was in attendance.

On the entertainment cards was famous Bongo Flava artiste Ben Pol who performed an entertaining set which included the nostalgic ‘Sophia’ at the opening of the show.

Ben Pol was joined by Michael Lukindo, Makini Kids and a belly dance performance by Nelly Kamwelu.

The contest saw Lorraine Marriott (21) of Dar es Salaam win the main crown after beating a hot competition from the other girls, something she admits it was not easy.

Lilian Loth was crowned Miss Earth Tanzania and the second runner up was Willice Donald who won the Miss Tourism Queen International crown.

For her efforts, Lorraine took home Sh3 million and a scholarship to study at New York Film Academy in the United States.

She will also represent Tanzania at the Miss Universe scheduled to be held on December 20 at the Axis, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The contest was very tough, I thank God for everything, and my target is now to win the international event. I have left only two weeks before I travel to the US, I want to follow in the footsteps of Flaviana Matata who finished among the top six in 2007 in Mexico,” said Lorraine.

Miss Universe Tanzania franchise holder Maria Sarungi Tsehai said that though it seemed like they were late they will still manage to stage the event according to the calendar.

According to her, the task ahead is to make sure Lorraine represents the country well at the international level.

“We have very limited time to prepare our queen; we are racing against time, we are sure we can reach our target and make Lorraine shine at the 64th edition of Miss Universe contest.”

At the pageant Lorraine will showcase a Maasai traditional dance and currently she’s undergoing an intensive training, the footage will be sent to Miss Universe Organisation for screening during the final.