A 21-year-old student from Jyväskylä, Essi Pöysti, was named Miss Finland 2009 on Sunday. She was crowned with a new tiara made of silver, gold and various gemstones.
For the first time in history, the winner of the Miss Finland beauty pageant was chosen by a public televote, while a jury was used to select the runners-up. Essi Pöysti got 22 per cent of all the votes cast.
The aim of the reform was to boost the tradition of annual beauty pageants, which had declined in popularity. Elsi Suolanen, a 19-year old sales assistant from Helsinki, was chosen as the first runner-up. She was also granted the Miss Press award.
The second runner-up of the competition was Linda Wikstedt, a 20-year-old model from Helsinki.
Essi Pöysti will represent Finland at the next Miss Universe contest in the summer of 2009.
