‘Expo Got Talent’, the first-ever talent show organised by Expolanka Holdings for its employees concluded amidst much fanfare with the crowning of Niran Kanishka as the champion closely followed by Kaushalya Vaas and Diana Rajan as the first and second runners-up, respectively.
Much hard work, music, dancing, drama, Yoga acts, martial arts and passion went into making the talent show a spectacular success. The electric atmosphere of the finale received an unexpected boost when Group CEO Hanif Yusoof announced his decision to double the cash prizes of the winners and award Rs.50,000 each to the rest of the finalists.
“Our employees are the force behind our success. We believe in appreciating our employees for their innate talents within and outside of their job roles. It was gratifying to see the overwhelming response to the competition and to witness the immense talent our employees possess. The finale was truly an evening to remember,” commented Expolanka Holdings Head of Group Human Resources Asitha Jayatunga.
The preliminary round judged by the celebrities Santhush Weeraman, Nemali Amarasinghe, Vimukthi Jayasundara and Rozzan Dias featured 50 odd artist displaying their many talents. The judges selected 10 finalists whose performances promised an exciting contest and a glamorous show for the finale which was held at the British School Auditorium. The promise of glitz, glamour and talent became a reality when the 10 finalists outdid each other and posed a real challenge for the judges of the day.
With Asanka Sahabandu as the host, the event’s line-up was arranged to entertain the audience from the start to the end. The entertaining line-up of the event included individual performances by the top 10 finalists, a group performance by the finalists and performances by Naadro and Podi Malli and Chooti Malli who were guest performers at the show. ‘Expo Got Talent’ had the audience engrossed in the different acts in the programme as the British School Auditorium was filled with cheer, laughter and pure enjoyment.
In their own words the much loved judges Nemali Amarasinghe, Sachini Ayendra, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Stephanie Siriwardhana and Dushyanth Weeraman chose the winners with much difficulty following a criteria based on technical aspect of performance, stage appearance and presence, originality or authenticity, the level of entertainment of the act and the overall performance.
Niran Kanishka, the winner of the ‘Expo Got Talent’ talent competition, enthralled the audience and judges with his unique performance where he showed his football skills and with his passion for dancing, to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience to everyone who watched. Counting the additional amount announced by the Group CEO at the finale, Niran received Rs.200,000 to recognize his win. Kaushalya Vaas, who was named the first runner-up of ‘Expo got Talent’ for his amazing singing talent, received Rs.150,000, while the second runner-up Diana Rajan, who mesmerized the audience with her dancing, received Rs.100,000 for placing third at the event.
As part of Expolanka Holdings’ core value of ‘Caring for Stakeholders’ Interests’, the group has always aligned its business activities to address the interests of its stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, employees, etc. And this core value has driven the group to achieve excellence in customer service.
However, Expolanka knows that this achievement is not possible without a set of motivated and satisfied employees and this is why they have continually worked towards creating a motivating working environment for job satisfaction.
