LAS VEGAS, December 2019: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has congratulated Mrs.Sri Lanka Caroline Jurie who was crowned Mrs World 2020 at the finals of the Mrs. World Pageant held in Las Vegas in the US on December 6. She becomes only the second Sri Lankan to win this prestigious global glamour title, the first being Rosie Senanayake who was adjudged Mrs. World at the inaugural Mrs. World Pageant 35 years ago in Australia.
In a message posted on Facebook, President Rajapaksa said: “My warmest congratulations to Mrs. Caroline Jurie for being crowned as ‘MRS.WORLD 2020’. Thank you for bringing glory to motherland by winning an international title after 35 years and creating a proud “Sri Lankan” moment for all of us.” Caroline replied saying: “Thnx My President.”
The Sri Lankan beauty queen, a mother of one, beat contestants from 51 countries, and overcame a tough challenge in the final rounds before taking the title. The First Runner up was from Ireland and the Second Runner up was from the US Virgin Islands. In 2019 Jennifer Le from Vietnam was named Mrs World, a longstanding pageant that celebrates the uniqueness of the married woman, her family and her community.
“I’m so honored to share my heritage and culture on the global stage,” Caroline said in a Facebook post made shortly before the final show started in Las Vegas.
Caroline’s win is a timely boost to Sri Lanka’s rapidly recovering tourism industry as it could help further raise awareness of destination Sri Lanka around the world. In fact, at a Tourism and Cultural Evening held in Dubai on 8 December to celebrate 40 years of bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the UAE, a presentation promoting Sri Lanka’s tourism industry ended with the spotlight falling on Sri Lanka winning the Mrs.World title.
