The Top 12 Miss South Africa 2017 finalists have been announced. Among the eight finalists from Gauteng is one from the West Rand.
They will compete at the Sun City Superbowl on Sunday, 26 March to wear the prestigious crown. The event will be televised live and simulcast on M-Net (Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic.
Miss South Africa 2017 will receive R1 million in cash from sponsors Sun International and Cell C, as well as a bouquet of prizes that will elevate the competition to one of the richest pageants in the world.
The finalists come from three of the country’s nine provinces – eight are from Gauteng, with two each from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The Gauteng finalists come from Alexandra, Soweto, Lenasia, Pretoria, Benoni and Krugersdorp respectively. Those from the Western Cape hail from Herolds Bay and Sedgefield. The KwaZulu-Natal contestants come from Durban and Mtunzini.
They are (in alphabetical order of their first names):
• Adè van Heerden – Herolds Bay, Western Cape
• Boipelo Mabe – Alexandra, Gauteng
• Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters – Sedgefield, Western Cape
• Iman Mkwanazi – Lenasia, Gauteng
• Kayla Malherbe – Mtunzini, KwaZulu-Natal
• Nicole van Niekerk – Môregloed, Pretoria, Gauteng
• Nompumelelo Mampholo – Diepkloof, Soweto, Gauteng
• Odirile Sepeng – Mabopane, Pretoria, Gauteng
• Priyeshka Lutchman – Yellowwood Park, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
• Shané Naidoo – Benoni, Gauteng
• Shelbe Pretorius – Pinehaven, Krugersdorp, Gauteng
• Yuta Raubenheimer – Kameeldrift, Pretoria, Gauteng
For the first time in the history of the Miss South Africa pageant, members of the public were invited to vote for their favourite Miss South Africa 2017 semi-finalist and propel her into the Top 12. The winner of the public vote was Pretoria’s Nicole van Niekerk.
The second round of public voting opened at midnight on 2 February. The public’s SMS votes will have a 25 per cent weighting of the overall voting towards the winner, with 75 per cent resting with the official judges. Voting is done via SMS. The public can SMS the number of their favourite Top 12 finalist to the short code number 45791. Each SMS will cost R1,50. Proceeds from the competition will benefit the Cell C Girl Child Bursary Fund. Up for grabs for five lucky voters are a weekend at The Palace at Sun City and VIP tickets to attend the live Miss South Africa pageant and after-party at Sun City. For more information visit the Miss South Africa website www.misssa.co.za.
Claudia Henkel, Sun International PR Manager said, “We are absolutely delighted with the finalists. The young women who have been selected depict everything that we hope the pageant represents; intelligence, integrity and beauty.”
Suzette van der Merwe, Managing Executive for Cell C said, “The Miss South Africa pageant provides a prestigious and respected platform for these dynamic, talented young women to discover their strengths, boost their confidence and propel their lives forward. It provides life changing experiences for all the participants and, for the winner, an opportunity to inspire and make a real difference.”
The young woman who is crowned Miss South Africa 2017 will automatically become the spokesperson for the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day initiative. Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, the current Miss South Africa who recently competed in both the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions, will crown her successor at the 2017 pageant.
Judges for the pageant include Maps Maponyane, Bridget Masinga and Ezra Davids, with more celebrity judges to be announced for the final.
• Details: Visit www.misssa.co.za; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MsSouthAfrica; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Official_MissSA for more information.
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