As the rest of the world is trying to deal with the outbreak of the pandemic in their own ways which includes the beauty pageant heads to postpone their pageants or sending their last year’s first runner-up to represent the country at the competition. The other option that few beauty pageant heads are considering is going virtual.
Miss South Africa Organization has recently decided to held its coronation ceremony virtually where the winner will be crowned in the first weekend of August as the country starts to celebrate Women’s Month. The entertainment-packed pageant will be broadcasted live on both M-Net and Mzansi Magic.
The online entries for Miss South Africa 2020 have already been started from Monday and individuals can enter the pageant through Miss South Africa’s website. The Miss South Africa Organizationdecided on going virtual due to the pandemic. The organization introduced the entry process online to reach more candidates.
The chief executive of Miss South Africa Organization Stephanie Weil said, “Last year the Miss South Africa Organization put the entry process online to make it as easy as possible for would-be contestants, as there were no forms to download and no regional auditions to which hopefuls had to travel. We did this in order to reach as many young women as possible and give candidates from any region of the country the opportunity to take part. This was hugely successful and we received a record number of entries last year and expect to better this again in 2020.”
Further talking about the pageant, Stephanie explained that even though the country is under lockdown, they are excited and doing everything to conduct the pageant. The organization will be conducting semi-finalist from all the entries and they will be judged online and later the finale will take place in the month of August.
“As always, the final show will feature a number of top South African entertainment acts and designers and will be broadcast live on M-Net and Mzansi. The only difference is that there won’t be a live audience but rather millions watching from the comfort of their own homes. We believe that this will help us grow and expand the Miss South Africa brand as there will be myriad opportunities for Miss South Africa fans to engage virtually with this year’s contenders.”
Miss South Africa 2019 Zozibini Tunzi handed over her crown to Sasha-Lee Olivier when she was crowned Miss Universe in December 2019. She expressed her excitement for the new way of the pageant will be held. She stated, “It is one of the most exciting things I have ever done and it has totally transformed my life. It is the ultimate in female empowerment.”
Last week, the Miss South Africa Organization launched their new logo with a tagline ‘Face Your Power. Embrace Your Future.’
“Zozi filmed the commercial in early February during her triumphant homecoming visit. What’s ironic is that we used a mask as part of our reveal! It had nothing to do with Covid-19 we had no idea that was coming,” said Weil. She further explained that this year the organization is looking out for dynamic delegates who not only be trained as pageant contestants, but also upskilled and shaped into champions for women’s rights, thought leaders, brand ambassadors and savvy career women with the tools to fulfil their chosen destiny.