The newly crowned Miss Belgium, Angeline Flor Pua, was surprised upon being chosen. This took place on Saturday evening in La Panne. “I was not expecting this at all and I still cannot quite believe it.” This was the reaction of the 22-year-old from Antwerp, whose family is originally from the Philippines, after she was crowned. She exclaimed, “It was as if I was dreaming. I am delighted."
The trainee pilot, in the last year of Flying School, is ready to put her studies to one side for a year. This is the case, even though she hopes to be able to combine her Miss Belgium role with the pursuit of her studies.
After the crowning which took place at the Plopsa Theater, she made sure to stress the quality of the other candidates in the competition. She said, “I am surrounded by fantastic princesses. They all certainly deserved the title.” She was specifically talking about Zoé Brunet, from Namur, and Dhenia Covens. Although Angeline’s family was originally from the Philippines, she was born in Belgium. She will go on to represent Belgium in the Miss World competition. However, her participation in the Miss Universe has not yet been decided. This is so, even though the girl from Antwerp is prepared take up the mantle in both events.
The young woman indicates, “I especially wish to make the most of the opportunities that come my way. First and foremost, I wish to party.” She cites Nelson Mandela as one of her idols. She promises that she will be “a true ambassador for Belgium” during the coming year.
The organiser of the competition, Darline Devos, was delighted with the result. She stated, "I had four favourites, of whom three ended up on the podium. All three genuinely deserved to win. Moreover Angeline is a hard worker. She really wanted to win. This is the case with the others as well, but Angeline stood out.”
This swept away the repeated criticisms which are taking aim at the regular absence of a French-speaking or Walloon beauty on the highest step of the podium. Darline Devos lamented, “If Zoé had won, everyone would have said that this was due to the critics.” She asserted that the choice was not targeted towards a preference for Flanders. “It would be better if members of the jury did not know where the candidates were from. However, the language does, of course, give this away. Once on the podium, we forget where the candidates are from.”
She further confirms, “The points system used in the competition is fair to all candidates.”
The Brussels Times
