CAN A GIRL FROM CHITOWN TAKE MISS WORLD CROWN?

Tafadzwa Zimoyo

Zimpapers Entertainment Editor

IT will probably be one of the GREATEST feel-good stories ever to emerge from the 200-year history of beauty contests around the world.

A girl from Chitown winning the Miss World crown.

It rhymes, doesn’t it — CHITOWN and CROWN?

It’s 201 years since the first recorded beauty contest, the Belle of the Anna-Ball, was held in Balatonfured in Hungary.

The Miss World pageant was founded in the UK in 1951 by Eric Morley while the Miss Universe was founded the following year in the United States.

Only five African contestants have won the Miss World crown.

Antigone Costanda of Egypt was the first in 1954 while South Africans— Penelope Coelen (1958), Anneline Kriel (1974) and Role Strauss (2014) also won the crown.

Nigerian beauty queen Agbani Darego is the only black African to win the Miss World title after she took the crown in Sun City, South Africa, in 2001.

She was just 18.

Now, can a 26-year-old Zimbabwean from Chitown become only the second black African beauty queen to win the Miss World crown in Vietnam tomorrow? The bags are packed, the gowns are ready, the flags are flying — and Zimbabwe is holding its breath.

Tomorrow, the spotlight will fall on Nha Trang, Vietnam, for the Miss World 2026 grand finale.

And, standing proudly in the middle of more than 100 national ambassadors will be Zimbabwe’s own Brunette Makanyiso. All eyes are now on the Chitungwiza beauty.

Can she make history?

That is the million-dollar question.

Brunette, 26, has already given Zimbabwe plenty to cheer about during her journey at the 75th Anniversary Miss World Festival.

She has survived the pressure, the interviews, the cameras, the challenges and the endless scrutiny that comes with representing a country at one of the world’s biggest beauty stages.

And, she has done it with a mixture of brains, beauty, confidence and purpose.

The pharmacist, who graduated from Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University in Russia, is not simply selling a pretty face.

Her background in healthcare and her community work have given her a powerful story to tell.

Her ‘Beauty With a Purpose’ work has focused on young people, skills development and drug and substance-abuse awareness, including work with Teen Rescue Mission in her home town of Chitungwiza.

That is where Brunette’s strength lies.

She has a story that begins at home — and has now travelled thousands of kilometres to Vietnam.

BRUNETTE’S MAIN STRENGTH

While some contestants may dominate one particular challenge, Brunette has quietly built an all-round profile.

She has shown herself to be comfortable in front of cameras, articulate during interviews and capable of carrying herself with elegance on the international stage.

And then came the cultural moments.

During the ‘Dances of the World’ presentation, Brunette had another opportunity to put Zimbabwean culture on the international spotlight, joining contestants celebrating their national identities through dance and costume.

The event, themed ‘Dances of the World —Hello Vietnam, Hello World,’ became one of the colourful highlights of the final stretch of the festival.

Brunette’s appearance mattered because it was not simply about dance.

It was about identity.

It was Zimbabwe walking onto that stage. It was Chitungwiza walking onto that stage.

And it was Brunette telling the world: this is where I come from.

Although she did not emerge among the widely circulated Top 20 selections for the dance presentation, her participation gave her another platform to showcase Zimbabwean culture as the competition moved towards the final.

And Brunette herself appears to have understood that every moment counts.

“Some little good moments. Nha Trang has shown us so much love, it is truly a pleasure being here,” she said, reflecting on her Vietnamese experience. That statement perhaps captures her journey perfectly.

She has not allowed missing out on some fast-track opportunities to define her campaign.

She did not make the ‘Head-to-Head or Talent’ challenge breakthroughs, but that does not mean the crown is out of reach.

The Miss World competition is much bigger than one challenge.

SHE HAS ALREADY MADE WAVES

Brunette’s campaign has produced some serious milestones.

She made the Top 60 of Miss World Top Model, putting her among an elite group of contestants competing in one of the festival’s major fashion challenges.

Even, more importantly, she reached the Top Six African finalists in ‘Beauty With a Purpose’, one of the biggest platforms associated with the Miss World brand.

That achievement is significant.

Miss World is not simply looking for the woman who can wear a crown.

It is built around ‘Beauty With a Purpose’ — women who can use the platform to make a difference.

And Brunette has that story.

THE MUSASIWA SHADOW

But there is another woman Brunette will inevitably be compared with.

Angeline Musasiwa.

In 1994, Musasiwa created history by finishing fourth, which is Zimbabwe’s best-ever run at the Miss World.

That record has stood for more than three decades. Zimbabwe has had other notable performances.

Shirley Nyanyiwa, Juliet Nyathi and Caroline Murinda all reached the Top 15 in the early 1980s.

Malaika Mushandu brought the country back into the spotlight in 2011 when she reached the Top 15.

FROM CHITUNGWIZA TO THE WORLD

That is what makes her story so compelling.She is not coming from one of Zimbabwe’s traditional modelling centres with a famous international surname.

She is a young woman from Chitungwiza, carrying the hopes of an entire country. And now she is only days away from discovering whether she can turn that journey into history.

The final will be brutal.

The field is packed with women who have also spent months preparing for this moment. One wrong move can end a dream. One powerful answer can change everything. One unforgettable appearance can make a queen.

Brunette has already shown that she can handle the pressure.

Now she needs to put everything together — beauty, brains, purpose, confidence, communication and Zimbabwean pride.