‘Rapunzel’ named Miss Switzerland

Switzerland has a new beauty queen – a 19-year-old who has been dreaming of the title since she was a little girl.

Jastina Doreen Riederer captured the Miss Switzerland crown on Saturday night, beating out ten other women aged 18-25. Riederer, who apprenticed as a retail specialist, is from Spreitenbach near Zurich.

Her nickname is “Rapunzel” on account of her long tresses, which measure 88 centimetres, or nearly 35 inches in length. As a child she was teased for her long hair, and school bullies even stuck chewing gum in it.

+ How Miss Switzerland tries to make a difference

Because of this, Riederer says she would like to address the problem of bullying during her year as Miss Switzerland. She also hopes to model, saying she would love a job with Victoria’s Secret.

Miss Switzerland

Beauty competitions have taken place in Switzerland since the 1920s, but the Miss Switzerland competition didn’t start until 1951. Contestants have to be resident Swiss citizens, aged 18-28, and at least 168cm tall.

In recent years, the competition has suffered significant setbacks. In 2011, Swiss public television dropped the competition in the wake of steadily falling audience figures. Other broadcasters have stepped in, but in 2012 and 2016, the pageant had to be called off due to a lack of sufficient funding.