Former Miss Ghana Stephanie Karikari, has given a damning verdict on the nation’s premier beauty pageant, describing it as “a dead brand” that needs to take a break and return after about three years better packaged and more attractive.
Crowned Miss Ghana 2010, Stephanie observed that the Miss Ghana pageant had lost its spark and pride of place under the management of Exclusive Events and is yearning for a return to its finest years when it was one of the most anticipated and most competitive events in the country.
The former beauty queen told the Graphic Showbiz that Ghanaians had lost interest in the Miss Ghana pageant because it lacked the competitive touch, integrity and finesse in its organisation.
“During my time, Miss Ghana used to be one of the most credible beauty pageants in Ghana and everyone was in love with it. But today, no one pays attention to it because of the entire organisation,” she told Showbiz in an interview last Monday.
“It used to be organised by Sparrow Productions and, trust me, it was highly competitive. The brand was highly respected and very intelligent ladies came in their numbers for the competition,” she continued.
Despite her uncomplimentary verdict on the pageant which shot her to fame six years ago, Stephanie was of the conviction that the organisers and franchise owners could best breathe life back into the Miss Ghana brand by taking a break and return with a repackaged event with a wow factor and a big punch.
“It will do the organises a lot of good if they take a long break to organise Miss Ghana well. I know I should be speaking good things about the brand but hey, if something is not going well you just have to let it out,” she said bluntly.
Ironically, even though she took a dim view of the pageant over the last three years, the former beauty queen, who now runs a cosmetics company, said she would still have competed in the Miss Ghana show even in its present state because it would enable her to pursue her charity work on maternal health and sanitation campaign.
She advised young ladies who aspired to compete in the Miss Ghana event or other beauty pageants to be focused on their goals.
“I realised young girls go in for the competition just for the exposure. The exposure is good, but after it what next? You really need to know the reason for going in for the competition and I am afraid most young girls are now in it for reasons best known to them,” said the soft-spoken lady.
Source: Graphic Showbiz