There were over 15,000 applicants for the first Miss Universe UAE and now the contestants have been whittled down to the 30 finalists.
Amongst the 30 finalists, three Emirati women have made it to the final stages – Marwa Al Hashemi from Sharjah, Reem Birdette from Abu Dhabi and Ameera Alawadhi also from the UAE capital.
The entire top 30 are set to be presented in person at a charity dinner on November 4. The following day preliminary rounds will take place where the top 15 will be unveiled and then a top five will be selected.
On November 7, the winner and the representative for the global event will be announced.
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Upon the unveiling of the finalists, Emirati model and actress Reem shared her pride at being selected in the final 30 hopefuls.
“So honoured and humbled to announce that I’m one of the first Emirati’s to be in the top 30 in Miss Universe UAE,” she captioned the post, adding the hashtag “breaking stereotypes”.
Sharing a similar post of pride, fellow contestant Ameera, an Emirati model and presenter, said she hoped to be able to “show the world what [Khaleeji women] really have to offer”.
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“I am so excited to announce that I’m one of the first Emirati women to make it to the #top30 of the first-ever Miss Universe UAE,” she said. “I really want to use this platform and opportunity to redefine what ‘beauty’ should mean to us as women, and especially to represent Khaleeji women.
“My mission is to show the world what we really have to offer, and that we do not EVER have to hide.”
She added, “Going in it with a full heart and lots of nerve. We are surely making history and #BreakingStereotypes together, ladies.”
While the UAE version of the pageant has followed the traditional format of the global event thus far, one amendment has been made – foregoing the swimwear round.
This was dropped “in respect of the UAE’s culture and traditions”.
The winner of Miss Universe UAE will be unveiled on November 7, 2021 and will then go on to compete in the global Miss Universe competition which will take place in December in Eilat, Israel.
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Images: Miss Universe UAE
