MORE than 500 people turned up to cheer on the Miss Wales finalists at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre on Saturday.

Colourful dresses adorned the stage as 32 finalists – aged from 16 to 24 – competed for the Miss Wales title. Contestants from across the country managed to progress to the last stage, including several entrants from Gwent; Miss Newport, Miss Cwmbran, Miss Monmouthshire and Miss Chepstow among others.

The evening was hosted by radio DJ and presenter Jason Harrod and Miss Wales 2016 Ffion Moyle. The final involved three appearances on the stage including the patriotic Welsh wear opener; a red dress catwalk; and the traditional evening wear parade.

All finalists also had one-to-one interviews with the panel of seven judges.

Hannah Williams, 23, of Pencoed, was crowned as Miss Wales 2017 while Jayde Reader, 24, of Cwmbran, and Maryanne Petrinolos, 18, of Swansea, were named as runners up.

Miss Williams studied business management at Cardiff University and now works at Sony’s plant in Pencoed as an assistant sourcing manager. She is responsible for buying electronic components worldwide for HD professional broadcasting cameras.

She is also one of Sony’s STEM ambassadors – an initiative to encourage girls to go for a career in science, technology, engineering and maths. Her ambition is to rise among the ranks in Sony to executive level.

In the run up to the final, the contestants had been tasked with fundraising for Beauty With A Purpose, the Miss World charity, which helps disadvantaged children worldwide. In total, they raised £21,000 and the new Miss Wales was the second highest fundraiser having generated more than £3,700 from a party night she held at Pen Y Bont Football club attended by friends, family and work colleagues.

She will enjoy a year of appearances in her new role and will be representing Wales at Miss World in China in November.

She said: “I have found the whole experience really empowering. I worked really hard in the run up doing all the challenges and fundraising expected by the finalists.

“It’s a real achievement.”

“I’ve loved every minute of the journey so far and now cannot wait to represent Wales at Miss World.”

“The other finalists were all fantastic girls and each and every one of them has wished me well. I consider them my friends now and they are what has made the whole process particularly special.

“I would really encourage other girls thinking about Miss Wales to go for it. All the girls have said it’s a great opportunity to grow your confidence.”

The event was held by Cardiff-based PR company Vibe. PR manager and director of Miss Wales Paula Abbandonato said the preparation for the event took six months by doing “a lot of fundraising, charity and social events”.

She said: “I call it a celebration because the evening is just the icing on the cake after months of adventure, challenge and excitement for all.

“Having the Miss Wales platform as the leverage to help make a difference to disadvantaged around the world is a gift and a privilege.”

Miss Wales 2017 is Hannah Williams from Pencoed.

Runner up is Maryanne Petrinolis from Swansea.

Runner up is Jayde Reader from Cwmbran.

List of the regional finalists:

Miss Blaenau Gwent is Paige Lewis.

Miss Caerphilly is Molly Absalom.

Miss Newport is Madonna Masefield.

Miss Monmouthshire is Zoe Scrimshaw.

Miss Torfaen is Jayde Reader.