MORE than 500 people turned up to cheer on the 40 Miss Wales finalists at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre on Saturday.

Colourful dresses adorned the stage as the girls – aged from 16 to 24 – strutted their stuff for the judges.

Contestants from across the country managed to progress to the last stage, including several entrants from Gwent, including Miss Newport, Miss Cwmbran, Miss Monmouthshire and Miss Chepstow among others.

The evening at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre was hosted by radio DJ and presenter Jason Harrod and the Miss Wales 2016 winner Ffion Moyle.

The girls took to the stage to show off their evening dresses and outfits, before the winners were announced.

Runners up were Gwent girl Jayde Reader, of Cwmbran, and Maryanne Petrinolos, of Swansea. But the official Miss Wales 2017 was Hannah Williams of Pencoed.

Twenty-three-year-old Hannah Williams from Pencoed has been crowned Miss Wales 2017.

She studied business management at Cardiff University and now works at Sony’s plant in Pencoed as an assistant sourcing manager. She is responsible for buying electronic components worldwide for HD professional broadcasting cameras.

ADVERTISING

inRead invented by Teads

She is also one of Sony’s STEM ambassadors – an initiative to encourage girls to go for a career in science, technology, engineering and maths. Her ambition is to rise amongst the ranks in Sony to executive level.

In the run up to the final, the young women had been tasked with fundraising for Beauty With A Purpose, the Miss World charity which helps disadvantaged children worldwide. In total, they raised £21,000. Miss Williams was the second highest fundraiser having generated more than £3,700 from a party night she held at Pen Y Bont Football club attended by friends, family and work colleagues.

Miss Williams will enjoy a year of appearances in her new role and will be representing Wales at Miss World in China in November.

She said: “I have found the whole experience realty empowering. I worked really hard in the run up doing all the challenges and fundraising expected by the finalists. It’s a real achievement. I’ve loved every minute of the journey so far and now cannot wait to represent Wales at Miss World.

“The other finalists were all fantastic girls and each and every one of them has wished me well. I consider them my friends now and they are what has made the whole process particularly special.

“I would really encourage other girls thinking about Miss Wales to go for it. All the girls have said it’s a great opportunity to grow your confidence.”

The event was held by Cardiff-based PR company Vibe. PR manager and director of Miss Wales Paula Abbandonato said the preparation for the event took six months by doing “a lot of fundraising, charity and social events”.

She said: “I call it a celebration because the evening is just the icing on the cake after months of adventure, challenge and excitement for all.

“Having the Miss Wales platform as the leverage to help make a difference to disadvantaged around the world is a gift and a privilege.”