“It is very interesting to see how powerful this title is; how it can make such a big difference in every aspect,” Diana Hamed, Miss Eco-Egypt 2021, told Ahram online.

Hamed will represent Egypt at Miss Eco-International 2022. The beauty queen will compete against 75 contestants from all over the world.

Miss Eco International is an international beauty pageant meant to promote and raise awareness about the environment and eco-tourism.

Egypt is scheduled to host Miss Eco-International 2022 from 12 to 27 March.

Last year, the contest was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“Delegates will arrive in Cairo on 12 March. The beauty queens will visit Hurghada and Alexandria,” Amal Rizk, founder and CEO of Miss Eco-International pageant, told Ahram Online.

“On 26 March, they will be at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina,” Rizk added.

Hamed is gearing up for the pageant.

“There are many stages in the competition, which requires a lot of work, but I am really excited about it,” she said.

The 22-year-old is Hungarian Egyptian. She studied business at Hult School in London.

Hamed has been modelling abroad since she was 14. She had always been fond of the world of beauty contests but she was too young to participate.

“I got scouted by an agency board which gave me the opportunity to travel all over Asia. I was modelling in all types of fashion runways, editorial and commercial,” Hamed said.

She is now working with the UNN Modelling Management agency in Egypt.

Hamed has many role models that have inspired her during her journey. “I follow many figures in different industries. In the beauty world, my role model is India’s Miss World 2000 and actress Priyanka Chopra. In modelling, it is Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen,” she said.

Hamed loves to travel. “It allows me to know different cultures and try a new taste of everything. I like to try as many things as possible,” she added.

For her, beauty comes in all shapes. “I don’t support the term ‘ideal beauty’. Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. It just takes the right people to notice,” Hamed commented.

Hamed started competing in beauty contests in 2019. That year, she was crowned Miss Egypt Universe in Cairo.

As the winner, she represented Egypt in the prominent Miss Universe 2019 in Atlanta, US.

Last year, Hamed won the international title of Miss Eco-Egypt 2020 at Miss Egypt (Bent Masr) which took place in September.

Miss Egypt Bent Masr is a prestigious annual national beauty competition.

“At that time the Covid-19 pandemic situation was getting better. This title is very special to my heart because of what it represents. It is much deeper than just beauty,” Hamed said.

“Being a beauty queen and having this platform gives me an opportunity to be a voice, not just on certain topics but on anything I want to stand up for,” she stated.

The title of a beauty queen comes with many duties and responsibilities, depending on the beauty pageant.

Hamed is going to initiate many environmental projects as Miss Eco-Egypt.

“I want to work on awareness campaigns for Nile cleaning and educating youth about the importance of the environment,” Hamed concluded. 

( All photos courtesy of Diana Hamed).