Eastbourne woman to represent England in Miss Europe pageant

Melissa Myers will take part in the Miss Europe Continental pageant in November after being approached on social media.

Ms Myers started to grow her following on Instagram, @travel_withmelly, during the lockdown and it has led to a number of collaborations with companies as well as opportunities in competitions.

Along with Miss Europe Continental, Ms Myers will also be taking part in the Miss Swimsuit UK and UK Calendar Girls competitions.

Ms Myers said, “I got approached on social media for the pageant and from that I though, ‘You know what? I should really put myself out there for other opportunities.’

“So I just connected with a lot of people online through Instagram and saw the sort of things they were doing and applied and that is what has put me on this path.”

On the pageant’s website they say they are looking for participants with poise, personal beauty, strong personality, tenaciousness and ambition.

Ms Myers said, “These pageants are all about encompassing beauty, elegance, flair and one girl is nominated to represent her country so obviously what I am doing for this pageant, I have chosen my sponsor, the British Lung Foundation because I am hoping to raise money.

“I want to use my position by representing the country for the pageant to raise money.

“I am representing as Miss England and I am supporting the British Lung Foundation to raise awareness around lung conditions and things like that, so I am collecting contributions as well.”

Ms Myers says she is hoping to raise money in memory of her grandad who suffered with emphysema and donated to the charity when he passed away.

Ms Myers also wanted to express gratitude to her workplace, ICT company System Active, as they helped by sponsoring her while supporting the charity.

“They said, ‘We will only do it on the basis that you get a charity on board because we would rather the charity get publicity and raise funds for it.

“If it wasn’t for them, the lung foundation wouldn’t even have any involvement because obviously the fee would have needed to be covered and with them being a charity I wouldn’t expect them to pay.”

If you would like to donate to the British Lung Foundation visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/melly-myers03.