The reigning Miss Aktau, Alia Mergenbaeva, was crowned Miss Kazakhstan 2015 by Olympic cycling champion Alexandre Vinokourov during the 10th edition of Miss Kazakhstan pageant, held on December 10, 2015 in Astana. The 17 years old diva will now represent Kazakhstan at the 2016 Miss World 2016 pageant. Miss Uralsk, Veronica Zalata was adjudged as 1st runner-up, Miss Karaganda, Renata Nurgazina was declared as 2nd runner-up and Miss Taldykorga, Aidan Kanaybaeva was announced as 3rd runner-up.
The grand coronation gala witnessed 30 girls vying for the title of Miss World Kazakhstan 2016 from different regions of Kazakhstan. The winner was chosen by popular SMS-vote and the collected funds will be donated to a charity Aruzhan Sain. The winner received a prize of five million tenge ($5,000).
After winning the coveted title and having achieved the dream of representing her nation at Miss World 2016, Alia ecstatically opined: “I will give the money to my mother. She is the one who always supported me. I never expected to win, and I am very happy to have participated in the competition. For me it was a dream.”
In the first stage of the contest the jury selected the 15 most striking hopefuls. Of these, only five young women, representatives from Petropavlovsk, Astana, Shymkent, Karaganda, Zhezkazgan, and Almaty, reached the finale. The election of Miss Kazakhstan is celebrated annually on Dec. 10, the date on which Astana became the Eurasian nation’s capital.
Kazakhstan has placed five times in Miss World and the closest they reached the crown was in year 2000, wherein Margarita Kravtsova was adjudged as 3rd Runner Up. With Alia Mergenbaeva wearing the sash of Kazakhstan at Miss World 2016, do you feel any chances of good placement? Do let us know your opinions!