Lydia Singer wins Miss African Spirit “Rising Stars” Talent Contest

April 16, 2011 - PRLog -- 9 year old Woburn resident Lydia singer was named as the overall winner of the “Rising Stars” Talent Contest hosted by Miss African Spirit pageant this Sunday 3rd April.The event was held at the Ramada Encore hotel, in Milton Keynes on Sunday 3rd April and winner Lydia fended off competition from 12 other contestants all coming from all over the UK for the chance to perform at this years Pageant Finale which will be held on 25th June.

When asked how she felt about her victory, Lydia said “I couldn’t believe it when they called out my name and I just sat there for a while. I’ve never done anything like this before and, I was so nervous during the first song, that I didn’t think I would win. I feel proud of myself and can’t wait to sing in the Beauty Pageant in June.”

12 year old Bradley Gasgoyne from Northampton, and 14 year old Simmy Togwe from London took 2nd & 3rd place respectively.  Bradley is currently the UK Singstar Champion, having won a national competition sponsored by Virgin and Sony.  Simmy does not have much experience with entering contests as a solo artist, but is part of 3 choirs and plays the violin and ukelele.

The event was judged by Richard Bailey, owner of Hillside Recording Studios which is based in Milton Keynes.  Another of the judges was Femi Akinwande, Senior Accountant at Milton Keynes Equality Council, and Jason Flinter, owner of Bristol-based, successful songwriting company The Song Diner.  The winner of the “Rising Stars” talent contest wins the opportunity to perform in a paid capacity at the Miss African Spirit Pageant on 25th June, as well as cash prizes.  

Pageant Director, Michelle Adams says,” It was our first time to hold the talent contest, in response to last year's enquiries where we had many artists wishing to perform at our event, but had no way of evaluating them.  This year our judges aimed to get us the best act, looking for the “wow” factor and we are very pleased congratulate Lydia Singer on her victory, which is exceptional for one so young.  We aim to hold this same event annually, as it worked very well to find performers we can contact for future events”.

Miss African Spirit pageant is a non-swimsuit pageant that is an annual event in Milton Keynes with aims to celebrate African culture, beauty and diversity.  To find out more about the organisation, to get involved as a partner or sponsor, or to enter as a contestant, please visit the website at www.missafricanspirit.co.uk.

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Miss African Spirit is a UK beauty pageant whose goal of the pageant is to instil a sense of pride in women of African heritage by promoting their culture and identity within the wider community, & provide a positive image with which to identify.