The 28 finalists for this year's Miss Northern Ireland Contest have now been selected and are all ready to compete to win the coveted Miss NI 2023 title.
The girls will prepare themselves to shine at the Miss Northern Ireland Gala Final on May 22.
Last year saw student nurse Daria Gapska take the top spot to present Northern Ireland at the 71st Miss World competition held in the United Arab Emirates.
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Miss NI 2023 marks the first time that the swimwear portion of the live gala final at the Europa Hotel has been cut from the programme, a move made by director Victoria Whithers to make the competition more reflective of the times.
She said: "It's been a long time coming but I was watching it for the first time last year and I just feel like it wouldn't be missed - I want the image that we are putting out there to be a responsible one and that it is not just about beauty but about inclusivity and intelligence."
These gorgeous girls will take to the stage next month to showcase their beauty, personality and heart so here are the 28 finalists making up the 2022 contest:
Karina Kustova
Miss Nu Delhi
21 - Magherafelt - Digital Creator
Karina used to teach special needs children how to horse ride.
Mackenzie Porter
Miss Belfast
17 - Ballygowan - Student
Mackenzie is a huge fan of country music.
Maeve McCartan
Miss Spice Lisburn
21 - Newry - Student
Maeve has a lot of pets, this includes 2 horses, 1 donkey, 2 dogs and 10 cats.
Yazmin Bowers
Miss Lisburn
20 - Islandmagee - Student
Yazmin loves family history - she created a full family tree of her granny’s family, contacted missing relatives and organised a massive family reunion.
Nevin Kerr
Miss Spice Templepatrick
24 - Lisburn - Beauty Therapist
Nevin has a pet snake called Roger.
Amy Devenny
Miss Antrim
21 - Comber - Student
Amy received an award for highest mark in Northern Ireland for GCSE Art and Design and then went on to get A* at A level.
Orla O’Halloran
Miss Hinch Distillery
22 - Armagh - Student
Orla’s neighbor growing up was Peter Kay.
Ana Bartolovic
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
19 - Ballycastle - Care Worker
Ana is half Croatian and fluent in Irish, she completed her Irish GCSE in primary 7.
Abigail Morrison
Miss Ballynahinch
18 - Lisbane - Yoga Instructor
Abigail has done figure skating from she was 5 years old.
Zara Fitzpatrick
Miss Magherafelt
18 - Enniskillen Retail - manager
Zara is fully trained in the use of a L98A2 GP rifle and full-bore target rifle. Zara has competed in many competitions with shooting.
Aoife McCloy
Miss LJ’s Tavern
19 - Magherafelt - Student
Aoife is almost fluent in Irish.
Courtney Quinn
Miss North Coast
20 - Cookstown - Student
Courtney ran at Irish national level in school.
Claire Njanina
Miss Anchor
23 - Belfast - Journalist
Claire is a twin; they were the first set of twins to be born in her hometown in Zimbabwe.
Evie Judge
Miss Dungannon
17 - Portadown - Student
Evie wrote a poem which is now engraved on the Peace Tree Sculpture in Derry.
Molly Walker
Miss Gasworks
20 - Newry - Student
Molly has done competitive gymnastics for the last 9 years.
Maria McEvoy
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
21 - Annaclone - Student
Maria has a pet donkey called Dash.
Megan McGillin
Miss East Belfast
21 - Belfast - Student
Megan rowed on the Rowing Ireland High Performance team for 2 years.
Yasemin Tepe
Miss Horatio Todds
25 - Newtownabbey - Retail Manager
Yasmin is half Turkish and also plays the violin and piano.
Zara Cupples
Miss Ballymena
18 - Limavady - Student
Zara has travelled the world dancing and drum majoring; including the Kremlin, performing on Red Square at the Spasskaya Tattoo in 2019, Avanches, Dubai, St Gallen and Toronto.
Kaitlyn Clarke
Miss Castle Kitchen
26 - Antrim - Social Media Executive
Kaitlyn has acted in a series for Disney Channel UK and PBS America. Kaitlyn has also appeared in 3 local TV advertisements and 2 BBC shows.
Ashleigh Kyle
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
26 - Ballymena - Pediatric Speech and Language Therapist
Ashleigh is a champion Irish dancer with her own dance school.
Leah Barbour
Miss Newry
21 - Newcastle - Student Nurse
Leah has never learnt how to swim.
Karen Byrne
Miss Phoenix Bar
23 - Warrenpoint - Beauty Therapist
Karen has visited the world's biggest particle collider in CERN in Switzerland.
Gabrielle Johnston
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
20 - Lisburn - Student
Gabrielle is fluent in Spanish and learning Italian and is also a 10- year rock electric guitarist.
Clodagh Gillen
Miss Saintfield
20 - Antrim - Student
Clodagh has performed Irish dancing in the Royal Albert Hall London.
Molly Rodgers
Miss White Horse
21 - Limavady - Student
Molly recently started learning Welsh.
Sophie Wightman
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
18 - Ballynahinch - Nursery Assistant
Sophie is learning to fly a helicopter.
Lauren Simmons
Miss Northern Ireland Finalist
23 - Ardglass - Freelance Marketer
Lauren has delivered a calf before.
The girls will be taking to the stage of the Europa Hotel on Friday, April 28 to take part in a special talent show event with complimentary drinks and nibbles for those attending. To buy tickets to support the 2023 girls, see here
*Finalists have been listed at random and do not reflect any sort of order or preference
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