AUCKLAND: Half Filipina Tania Dawson,was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2016 on Saturday night at Skycity Theater.
With the win, the 23-year-old takes home prizes including a stay at Plantation Bay Resort & Spa in Cebu, Philippines, and the use of a Honda Jazz RS Sport Limited for the duration of her reign, reported Lucire.com.
The secondary school drama and music studies’ teacher Dawson was also the crowd favorite, with a large group of supporters in the live theater audience, the report said.
Another Filipina, Seresa Lapaz, who was born in the Philippines but is a naturalized New Zealander, came as first runner-up. Both ladies hail from Auckland, while second runner-up Larissa Allen comes from Tauranga.
Dawson was crowned by her predecessor, Samantha McClung, who flew from Christchurch to join 2013 titleholder Holly Cassidy in a special parade featuring the exclusive designs of Ankia van der Berg of Golden Gowns, said the news portal.
The sold-out audience enjoyed entertainment from special guest performers Stan Walker, Frankie Stevens, and Ali Walker, as well as the cast of Oh What a Night!, who appeared in a recorded segment filmed earlier on Saturday.
The destination for Dawson, as well as the other national titleholders, is uncertain, but there have been suggestions it could be the Philippines, and already Lapaz has reportedly vowed to support her former competitor should she venture there.
Dawson said she sees herself as an advocate for education, and entered the competition because she wanted to practice what she preached: to challenge herself and overcome any self-doubt.
Repeating their roles from last year, Stephen McIvor and Sonia Gray hosted. Stevens was also on the judging panel (particularly appropriate given his similar role in NZ Idol), alongside motivational speaker and social practitioner Areena Deshpande, director of Head2Heels and former Miss Universe New Zealand director Evana Patterson, AJPR boss and BRCA cancer gene awareness champion Anna Jobsz, and arguably the top make-up practitioner and educator in New Zealand, Samala Robinson, reported Lucire.com.
