The news of Miss Universe Nepal’s franchise being separated from Miss Nepal came out a few months ago and on 11th June 2020, in a digital press conference, ‘Ma Nepali’; an organization founded by Miss Nepal Universe 2017 Nagma Shrestha in cooperation with CG Corp Global, was announced as the new franchisee of the Miss Universe Organization in Nepal.
The Miss Universe Nepal organization announced that the coronation of the next representative of Nepal at Miss Universe i.e., at Miss Universe 2020 stage will be held virtually keeping the social distancing and the proper safety of the people involved in mind. Shrestha announced that the Miss Universe Nepal 2020 pageant would be an all in-app beauty pageant. She explained that she is extremely proud and excited to be the national director of the country she is proud to be a part of.
Recently, the former Miss Universe Nepal and now the founder of Miss Universe Nepal, Nagma Shrestha went on a live session with the creative director of Miss Universe Nepal Anusha Peterson to discuss and answer some of the questions related to the new franchise. Nagma started off by asking Anusha’s experience with the team till now and Anusha replied that she feels honored to be a part of such a huge brand and is very excited to take over her role as a creative director and a brand that is trying to break the norms and standards of a beauty pageant and aligning them with the trends and what people want is something very exciting to be a part of. Anusha also mentioned that people watching this, “We hear you and we are trying to make this beauty pageant your as much as ours. We want everyone to be patient with us because we are trying to bring something that is going to be ground-breaking.” One of the pageant fanatics had asked them about the next edition of Miss Universe Nepal since Miss Universe 2020 is tend to take place during the first trimester of 2020; Nagma answered that the next edition of Miss Universe Nepal i.e., Miss Universe Nepal 2021 is not yet been decided when to be held but surly towards the end of the year. She also stated that the auditions will begin once the application is launched.
Nagma asked Anusha to explain the format of Miss Universe Nepal, to which the divas stated that since it is the first edition of the Miss Universe Nepal the organization is following the guidelines of Miss Universe itself which includes an evening gown, swimsuit, talent, question and answer, one on one question answer round, etc., which will be included for selecting the representative of Nepal for Miss Universe 2020 stage. Anusha also added that as soon as the app launches and audition begin, it will take about three months for the organization to select the finalist so if anyone of the viewers watching the live session wants to participate should clear their schedule because it’s going to be a long journey. One of the fans had asked on how to start prepping herself for the pageant and had mentioned that she is 15-years-old right now to which the divas stated that it’s amazing to see that a dream to represent the country at Miss Universe stage has started so young and advised her to educate herself about the beauty pageant and stay determined towards her dream.
The organization had stated that Miss Universe Nepal is inclusive of everything this year where there is no size or height criteria, transwomen are also allowed to compete this year. Comparing this to the previous beauty pageants where there was a height criterion which was a barrier for a lot of aspiring divas, Anusha added that everyone is welcome at the Miss Universe Nepal family. She also mentioned that there are no weight criteria as well but one must be comfortable in their skin because there will be a swimsuit competition. They stated that it all depends upon the confidence and the attitude that a girl carries within herself and if she aspires to make a change or create a wave then she is welcome to be a part of our Miss Universe Nepal family.
Nagma shared that she was talking to Anjali Llama who is trans supermodel and is currently based in Mumbai right now and she expressed that she would love to see a transwoman represent Nepal at Miss Universe stage. Anusha added that it’s going to happen one day. Anusha also asked Nagma that was she ever bullied or called out for being so tall when she was an adult? Nagma answered that she was bullied but mostly body shamed by her peers because she was tall and she was called out names and since she was a little girl and naïve, she believed them and started wearing flats and hunch a little every time she walked. She added that what changed her was an incident that took place when she was in grade 6 and someone came up to her and passed a ridiculous comment after which she started crying but, one of her friends came up to her, consoled her and said that one day you are going to prove them wrong and believe in yourself. This incident changed her and she started to work for something huge like representing Nepal at Miss Universe stage.
The divas answered some more questions to give out some more details about the beauty pageant who will select the next representative of Nepal at Miss Universe 2020 stage.