NEWS ARTICLE: Miss Universe glamour-fest treat

Miss Universe glamour-fest treat
Daile Pepper
October 8, 2008 - 3:46PM

Perth will be treated to a glamour-fest like it has never seen before when the top 50 Western Australia (WA) Miss Universe contestants strut their stuff in a twilight concert to be held in the Supreme Court Gardens.

Set to be held in February, this event will be the piece de resistance for Miss Universe WA organisers Troy Barbagallo and Greg Erskine who are in the midst of revamping the pageant competition they recently took over.

The pair hope to attract 4000 people to the outdoor summer event, which will feature an international band they are currently negotiating with as well as the announcement of WA's six finalists.

Barbagallo and Erskine, known for their knack for putting on exciting events, could face an uphill battle to change the views of the community about the competition, with past years struggling to attract girls and attention.

They are prepared to make a loss this time around as they work to change attitudes towards the contest which made Jennifer Hawkins an international star.

"This is not like a bikini contest, there is a lot more to it," Erskine said.

"It's a four or five month process where the 50 finalists are going to get training and experience they wouldn't otherwise be offered.

"If we just wanted to make some real money out of it we would sell it to a pub and run lots of bikini competitions. But we want to make it classy and pretty slick."

The finalists would receive media and gym training, star in photo shoots in exotic locations up north and more as they were prepared for the role of WA finalists, when the top six would go on to the national competition.

Erskine hoped to attract 300 girls on registration day, Sunday October 19 in Forrest Place.

But attitudes to the competition could prove difficult to change, with Chadwick Models Perth manager Tanya Muia saying the event may struggle to attract many models.

She said there would be only a few models from her agency she would enter.

"A lot of girls that are doing really well with their modelling don't always look at something like Miss Universe as something that will take them to the next level because they don't need it," she said.

But Ms Muia believed that if anyone could revamp the local competition into a successful and exciting contest Barbagallo and Erskine could.

"The next Jennifer Hawkins may be sitting in a café in Albany right now," Erskine said.

source: WAToday