Anele Mdoda and Nico Panagio to host Miss SA 2021

TV hosts and media personalities Anele Mdoda and Nico Panagio have been named as the hosts of Miss South Africa 2021.

This is nothing new for Anele, who has previously served as a judge a few times for the pageant since 2013.

This time, however, she will take centre stage alongside the host of Survivor SA, Nico Panagio. Considering the presenting experience between the two of them, the choice to put them together as a dynamic duo shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

In a statement issued on Monday, Anele said the top 10 beauty queens will grab all the attention and her job will be giving the audience the “inside” scoop on how the contestants and judges are feeling.

She encouraged people to tune in on 16 October for the finale and said current Miss SA Shudufhadzo Musiḓa has “raised the bar.”

“There have been big changes in the pageant since I started being involved. The team running it is younger and braver and there is no set standard of beauty. I used to get so annoyed when we were shown, for example, a Miss Venezuela and got told this was what international pageants were looking for, and I would be like, yes … for them! The main currency now is authenticity,” she said.

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Anele received backlash on social media last week once again due to the ongoing “joke” after what she posted on Twitter some years ago. As a result, Anele trends every time American musician Kelly Rowland posts anything on social media.

Anele once insinuated that Rowland wasn’t pretty without makeup and black Twitter has never forgiven her for that statement. Whenever she trends, the tweets usually poke fun at how “ludicrous” Anele was for thinking Rowland isn’t “naturally pretty.”

When Rowland posted a picture wearing the same bathing suit as Anele, Twitter went on into overdrive and she trended for days thereafter when most trends usually dissipate after a few hours. People assumed that Kelly was responding to Anele’s past comments and the comparisons of who wore it best even received coverage in the US.

Anele was dragged through the mud, as much of local Twitter chose not to defend her. She simply responded saying that comments about her looks do not hurt her and all that matters is what people think about the work she does.

Her co-host Nico is excited about sharing the hosting duties with Anele, and described their engagement as “loads of fun”. He says the audience can expect “exceptional production values that will not only impress loyal followers of this pageant but also broaden the appeal to a greater South African audience.”

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Nomsa Philiso, the Director of Local Entertainment Channels at M-Net, said viewers can also expect an “unforgettable evening.”

The next Miss SA will be crowned in Cape Town at the Grand West Arena on 16 October. 

Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele