Chayenne Van Aarle, a 22-year-old air hostess from Antwerp, was crowned Miss Belgium 2022 at an evening gala in Adinkerke, De Panne, on Saturday, Belga News Agency reports.
She succeeds Kedist Deltour.
“I was born in a caravan, but grew up in a castle,” she said during the gala. “My father adopted and cared for retired circus animals. I learned that if you work hard, you can achieve your aims.”
Elle Leclercq, from Lokeren, was first runner-up, while second runner-up was Silvana Spyros, from Limburg.
Kedist Deltour Miss Belgium 2021 crowns Chayenne Van Aarle. © Belga
Van Aarle won a Volvo with a fuel card for a year, along with other prizes.
This year’s jury included De Panne Mayor Bram Degrieck and Miss Ukraine, who spoke briefly at the ceremony.
“A real war is raging in my country, and not only soldiers are dying; civilians, too, including innocent men and women,” she said. “That’s why I’m asking NATO to support our country. Ukrainians are fighting to protect democracy in the whole of Europe.”
Some 2,000 women signed up for this year’s 55th edition of Miss Belgium, the eighteenth one under the direction of Darline Devos.
