As the rest of the world is still trying to figure out how they will hold the annual pageant titleholder, South Africa seems to be ahead of the pack.
Miss South Africa 2020 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 this year’s competition began on Monday on the Miss South Africa website.
The Miss South Africa Organisation switched things around by introducing the entry process online to reach more candidates. This is specially necessary as many parts of the world are under quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Last year the Miss South Africa Organisation put the entry process online to make it as easy as possible for 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,” said Stephanie Weil, CEO of the Miss South Africa Organisation.
“In this time of Covid-19 and the lockdown, this ‘virtual entry’ has proved to be fortuitous. Those who wish to enter this year can simply visit www.misssa.co.za, answer a number of questions and upload photographs from their social media accounts such as Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. It’s as simple as that,” Weil added.
Other countries have since followed South Africa’s lead this year and opted for the online entry process. However, none have announced how their pageant will run.
The beauty pageant will be live on air without any live audience.
“The competition, now in its 62nd year will continue despite everyone being on lockdown. We will select semi-finalists from all the entries we receive, and this will be followed by the judging, which will be done online. We will then reveal our finalists for the finale in 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," said Weil.
“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.”
Entries for this year's competition close on May 31. To enter, go to www.misssa.co.za and click on the tab ‘Miss South SA 2020’ and then ‘ENTER NOW’.
The Miss South Africa Organisation will also be launching the Miss South Africa Foundation this year. Details of this foundation will be revealed at a later date.