Sunday Times 2
Lanka Twins Organisation to hold beauty pageant for first time
View(s):‘Miss and Mr Twin 2023,’ a beauty pageant featuring identical twins is scheduled to be held in the upcoming months.
The pageant, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, will feature 16 sets of twins. Rehearsals for the event are ongoing at the National Youth Centre in Maharagama.
The pageant is a concept of the founders of the Sri Lanka Twins Organisation (SLTO) Upuli and Chamali Gamage who have organised the event with the Managing Director of SLTO Major (Rtd) Mahinda Hetiarachchi.
Contestants of the pageant will be judged based on segments such as Most Photogenic, Best Talent (singing, dancing etc) and Mirror Imaginary, a segment where one twin replicates the movements of the other via a frame. This too, is a novel concept in the pageant industry.
The contestants, between the ages of 16-30, are from various parts of the island.
“Some of the challenges in organising the event were the lack of a main sponsor and the distance participants have to travel,” said Chamali.
The participants, who were shortlisted from the initial 5,000 applications received, have undergone two auditions.
Three pairs of twins from each category (male and female) will be crowned with titles and will proceed to participate in the ‘Miss and Mr Twin Global 2024’ pageant. “The global pageant to be held in mid-April next year will feature twins from 54 countries,” says Major Hettiarachchi.
The SLTO was founded on August 23, 1993. “What makes the organisation stand out is our free membership – being a non-profit organisation,” says Upuli. With a membership of 12,000, the SLTO hosts annual events such as Avurudu celebrations and a dance show.
Upuli and Chamali are also the Vice Presidents of The Global Twins Multiple Birth Forum.
The duo have also starred in films and teledramas of prominent filmmakers such as Lester James Peiris and Parakrama Niriella.