The race ends tonight. One delegate out of 20 will go on to represent Guyana at the Miss Universe Pageant in Puerto Rico on May 29.

When the curtains go up on the National Cultural Centre stage tonight, and the scores from the swimsuit and segments are announced, a number of delegates will essentially have made their last appearance as far as this contest goes.

Who will win? No doubt, this is the question on everyone's mind and as the segment shows there are bound to be few surprises. Two contestants, Juanita Collins and Olivia Brown, have shone in those two segments and seem likely to secure places among the five finalists.

Collins, a sales representative at BWIA and delegate number two in the pageant, might not have been a likely candidate from the beginning for the final five but she certainly proved herself in the swimsuit contest held last Sunday and more recently in the segment aired live on GTV 11 last Tuesday evening. The fluent manner in which she answered the question posed to her left no doubt in anyone's mind that she knows what she is about. Collins certainly has the height, intelligence and as was obvious in the swimsuit contest, a well-toned body.

Eighteen-year-old Brown has a refreshing innocence. But don't be fooled, the Queen's College sixth form student is smart. Brown, a Christian, had said the only problem she had with entering the pageant was appearing on stage in a swimsuit. But last Sunday she proudly displayed her well-kept body and would certainly have been given the thumbs up.

She was not as fluent in answering her question as Collins was but she answered well enough.

Closely following these two is St Joseph's High School teacher, Petal De Santos, who oozes confidence. There is no doubt about it, she is savvy, slim and walks in a way that says she means business. She also answered her question with conviction.

There are four other contestants who could lay claim to a place among the final five: Shamane Joseph, whose experience when it comes to pageants might be a plus; Shaneeze Galloway, the reigning Miss African Heritage; Tamara Rodney, a television show producer; and Asha Pieters, the reigning Miss Guyana Talented Teen who has a pretty face, a good body and experience when it comes to pageants.

Other contestants like Mia Rahaman, Darda Harmon-Lewis, Thandi Mc Allister, Sissel Moore and Lourianne Pluck are also in the running.

Below are the questions posed to the three front-runners in the race with their answers.

Collins' question was: "Many people feel that casino gambling should be introduced to stimulate the economy of Guyana, give me your views on this situation?" And her response: "In many countries there is casino gambling and I think that it strictly depends on whether you have the measures in place to deal with what is the spin off of casino gambling. And I think in Guyana, I am not sure we have those measures in place. If we can regulate finances.....if we have financial measures in place, for example, I know when you go to the bank you [have to] declare exactly where you got this sum of money from, if it is a large sum of money... If we have the financial measures in place to deal with such a thing then fine, but it deals with large sums of money and when persons come and they want to bet do you ask them where did you get this money from and so on.... And the spin off is social and so many other things that we know are all interconnected, so I think it is very dangerous and needs to be looked at carefully. If you could put the measures in place and our economy would be boosted then I say go for it, but if the burden is going to be too much then we need to look at it carefully."

Brown's question was: "How did it benefit you being a delegate in this pageant, how does it change your life?" Her response: "While being in this pageant, as I have mentioned before, I have become a well-rounded person in terms of the inner me. And I have been able to meet new people. The girls, they have been wonderful to work with and I am learning about, you know, different backgrounds because they are all from different backgrounds and I have been able to learn from them. All in all, you know, the tours we have been on I have been able to learn more about Guyana, more about my country and you know basically I have become a well-rounded person."

De Santos' question was: "What recommendations do you have to solve the homeless situation in Guyana?" Her response: "First of all the homeless situation in Guyana is very prevalent. I think we should establish some sort of shelter for them where they can at least go and have some secure way of sleeping and eating and some kind of job opportunities. Find out what kind of skills they have, find out what made them homeless in the first place to work with them with their situation. Find out how best you can get them off the streets and back into [being]productive members of society."

Meanwhile, holder of the Miss Universe franchise, Odinga Lumumba, said yesterday that everything was on schedule for tonight's event. He said the tickets were already sold out and promised those attending the treat of their lives. And to those who would not be at the pageant he urged that they attend the ball after the pageant at the Everest Ground where there would be an international fashion show with models from America and Trinidad.