Irene shines at Miss World

Saturday, December 8. 2007, Pg. 37 (The Mirror)
By Rebecca Kwei
For the first time in the history of the Miss World contest, a Ghanaian, Irene Dwomoh, Miss Ghana 2006, was adjudged the most talented contestant among the 106 beauties who participated in the event.
The 21-year-old, who represented Ghana at the 2007 Miss World beauty festival held in Sanya, China, last Saturday, thus gained an automatic entry into the semi-final group of 16.
In that group of 16 were Miss Angola, Austria, China PR, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Hong Kong China, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, United States and Venezuela.
Sporting an Afro hairdo and dressed in an African print trousers and top, Irene performed bits and pieces of various dances, flavoured with a little comedy, to the late Terry Bonchaka’s song, ‘Zoozi’, to the admiration of the audience, responded with loud cheers.
“It was unbelievable. I did not expect to win. The deafening cheers and the number of people who came to congratulate me were overwhelming. I realised at that time that I had been recognised. I shed tears of joy,” Irene said in an interview with The Mirror in Accra.
According to her, she choreographed the performance herself and chose Terry Bonchaka’s song because it had different rhythms with which one could perform different dances.
“I put in my best and although the dance was a bit funny, I kept a straight face,” she added.
She said she felt very proud of her award and also for the fact that she had set the pace for other Africans to follow.
The official website of the Miss World contest said this of the talent contest: “Even before she was introduced, a whole bank of watching contestants were chanting ‘Ghana, Ghana’ in anticipation of her hugely popular performance. It was an act that will live long in the memory, drawing laughter and applause from all parts of the room.”
In the grand finals, the China PR delegate, Zhang Zilin, won the highly coveted title of Miss World 2007 in a glittering, star-studded event at the Beauty Crown Theatre in Sanya, Hainan Province, China.
The 2007 Miss World festival saw 106 beautiful and talented contestants spend an unforgettable month in China. A loud applause rang out in the packed theatre as Julia Morley, the Chairperson of the Miss World Organisation and the international panel of judges, announced the winner’s name.
Her smile shone out to a world-wide TV audience of over two billion as she was crowned by last year’s Miss World, Tatana Kucharova.
The First Runner-up was Micaela Patricia Reis from Angola, followed by Mexico’s Carolina Moran Gordillo as Second Runner-up. The other two finalists were Miss Trinidad & Tobago and Miss Sweden.
An impressive cast of international stars and music artistes ensured that the 57th Miss World final was a dazzling event.
 A special TV spectacular show was hosted by top Chinese TV presenter Angela Chow, presenting Miss World for the fifth year in succession, alongside co-host Fernando Allende, who is one of Latin America’s biggest stars and was making his Miss World debut.
The show told the story of the contestants’ stay in the tropical paradise of Sanya, with many clips of their activities and sightseeing, as well as their exciting trip to Beijing where they recorded the Olympic Torch Relay Anthem, visited the Great Wall and helped the Red Cross to raise over US$5.5 million to build new healthcare centres across China.
It also featured a stunning performance by international pop star Duncan James, formerly with the Boy Band Blue, singing ‘All I care about is love’ from the hit musical Chicago, and spectacular dancing and acrobatics by some of China’s most talented dance troupes.
One of the highlights came when Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, introduced his grandfather’s televised message for World Aids Day. That was followed by a magical moment when children from Mandela’s home town in South Africa joined with children from a local Hainan school and all 106 contestants to sing the World AIDS Day song.