Miss Universe GB

A year in the life of Miss Universe GB

You can also visit www.the-sun.co.uk for regular updates on how Clair is doing at the Miss Universe final in the Bahamas

October 2009

The 3 weeks I spent out in the Bahamas for the Miss Universe finals were surreal, but I would repeat them at the drop of a hat! I just can’t fault the experience. Swimming with dolphins, meeting Mr Trump, full on police escorts through traffic, dancing junkanoo, mixing with just about every culture I can think of... In such an incredibly short space of time, I’ve had my horizons well and truly expanded and my mind completely opened. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this experience and did my upmost to represent Britain to the very best of my ability. I’m also very thankful to the Sun who gave me an opportunity to write my own blog.

Stefania Fernandez is a wonderful girl who endured my very bad pigeon Spanish and she is the most fantastic, beautiful Miss Universe who knows how to rock a red lipstick (Amen). You go girl! I wish her the very best for her reign.

Next on the cards…my work with the Joshua Foundation which now begins in earnest. Before Xmas, I am heading out to Romania on a fact finding mission and I’ll also get to fit a little time in with Santa in Lapland.

Love
Clair xxx

July 2009

In the last month or so, I’ve been cramming in all my last minute preparations. I’ve decided to not pull my hair out as that won’t make for a particularly good look at the Miss Universe finals. I picked up my final gown last week. What can I say? It flows beautifully and the sequins and beading are the result of no less than 170 man hours, all are sewn on by hand. Prrrrrr.

Amongst the preparations I’ve had time to flit around, starting with an unlikely location… the Millennium Bridge. I attended a photocall in association with the Bahamian Tourist Board. I wasn’t alone, there were a number of other ladies who thankfully had the weather on their side and didn’t catch their death as they were wearing nothing more than their bikinis. The results of the shoot were very fun and ended up on the Telegraph Online amongst others so I appreciate the ladies’ dedication to the cause!

I was also invited to Bahamas house to celebrate Independence Day with the High Commissioner of the Bahamas His Excellency Paul H Farquharson and his lady wife. I was presented with a wonderful basket of goodies from the Bahamas to help “rebeautify” pre competition. It was great to have a taster of the Bahamian hospitality pre my trip and I was made to feel very welcome.

This Friday Vibe have kindly organized a little leaving get together and generally speaking the opportunity for a reunion with the rest of the girls from the competition at Whisky Mist. No late one for me though as I’m being picked up early afternoon so I can spend the day with a very special girl called Mackenna and her family. The Joshua Foundation is providing Mackenna with some spending money for Hamleys and I will be there to assist as a personal shopper! Any time left will be spent sightseeing round London in a limousine topped off with dinner at Hard Rock Café. I can’t think of any other way I would rather spend my last day in the country, and I’m really looking forward to it. After the goodbyes I’ll be checked into a hotel in Heathrow so I (and all my ridiculous amounts of luggage) can make that morning flight to the Bahamas!

I can’t wait to take in everything this once in a lifetime 3 week experience has to offer and look forward to representing the country with my own little individual slant. I will have a blog running on the Sun online complete with pictures so no one need miss a morsel of the goings on in Nassau!

Love

Clair xxx

June 2009

My first month as Miss Universe GB and my first diary entry… and the very first thing I need to do is right my wrongs! When I was crowned and a microphone was thrust in my hand I failed to thank a lot of really important people. My mother, father, Vicky, Dougie (whoopman and cheerer extraordinaire) and Nick (sorry we never made it to the Custard Factory – but come 3am the adrenaline was no longer enough to keep me going). Without my wonderful family and travelling “fanclub” the experience would have been a lot less colourful. Up until the 11th hour I had no idea what to wear for my pre-interview with the judges and low and behold my mother pulled out a silk dress she’d picked up from Singapore. Mummies really do know best. It was also great to have others in the audience who had made the trip, former Miss Wales Claire Evans and her “lush” gentleman, Gemma Fox, Jessica Monroy whose cheers did not go unnoticed… I am especially thankful to the judges for seeing the potential in me and giving me their vote of confidence. Nick Knowles and Rachel Rice had extremely kind words for me and I only hope to live up to their expectations.

I really do appreciate Vibe giving us girls in Britain the opportunity to fly the flag for our country at Miss Universe. Some years there have been no British delegates which for the biggest International pageant in the world – (last year’s show was broadcast to nearly a billion viewers worldwide) – is such a shame. The ladies of Britain help make her and we should be up there competing with the best of them on the international stage.

Right now, my absolute number one priority is the Miss Universe finals in the Bahamas. First stop… Dress Stop, this Saturday in fact. I’ll be hitting Cardiff for one day. The right wardrobe is so important and I am so grateful to Carole at Dress Stop. Every girl has an inner princess and quite frankly I can’t wait to unleash her! The national costume is also an important part of the Miss Universe wardrobe. Helen Rhiannon Gill is kindly lending a helping hand. A clue… we’re going regal… For the evening gown… that stays a secret till the preliminaries, but I can say it will be very me and in a very bright popping colour. I’m quite active and go dancing at Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden but in the lead up to August I also have a personal trainer to make sure I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, it’s been squats and crunches galore.

Another important part of the process… paperwork… lots of it. Poor Paula at Vibe had to keep chasing me but I wanted to make sure I got it just right. My flights have all been booked, excess luggage paid for. 46 Kilos of it. For now. Once I start packing I’ll soon see if I need more. This is a one-off opportunity and I want to make sure I enjoy it to the full, stiletto heels and skirted up to the max. Being the worry worm I am, I am already saying a silent prayer that all my bags turn up where they’re meant to, when they’re meant to. Lisa, last year’s winner had all her luggage shipped and it all went missing, never to turn up again. A nightmare when on holiday, but for Miss Universe a disaster. A massive hand to her for coping like the star she is. I have big shoes to fill! My flight back home Bahamas post competition, gives me a couple of days leeway to enjoy the Bahamas. The direct flights off the Island were completely sold out straight afterwards but secretly this suits me down to the ground. I have always wanted to go to the Bahamas and swim with dolphins… So the Bahamas is presenting me with the opportunity to fulfill two dreams, two birds with one stone if you like Miss Universe and dolphins!

Another hugely important part of my reign is my ambassadorial role to the Joshua Foundation. So in two weeks… it’s back up to Cardiff for my first engagement… a Mad Hatter Tea Party. I’m really looking forward to this as I’ll really get to experience first hand some of the wonderful, worthwhile work the Foundation does. Holly Ikin won the Miss Charity award and it’ll be great to do more for the foundation over the course of the year with her.
You’ll be able to see the results of my first Miss Universe GB shoot here very soon… Also my first interview is coming out in The Daily Star Sunday Take 5 Magazine this weekend so keep your eyes peeled for that… Another photoshoot scheduled in with the Bahamas Tourist Board and a taste of glamour at The High Commissioner’s Independence Day reception are all on the cards in the future also…

Lisa Lazarus, thanks for your kind words and all your help.
To all the ladies I stood on the stage with last month, it was a pleasure and an honor. I hope to represent you all with style, panache and pezazz. Above all, good luck for your future projects and pageants!

Love

Clair x

3rd May 2009

Clair Cooper is crowned Miss Universe GB 2009 at a glittering ceremony in Birmingham.

Clair's Diary

A year in the life of Miss Universe GB