Close contest for coveted SA crown

Today we will have a new Miss South Africa. Buhle Mbonambi predicts who will win the crown at the 60th edition of the pageant

WHILE the 1990s was the heyday of Miss South Africa, the pageant is slowly getting back on our radar, thanks to brilliant winners like Melinda Bam, Rolene Strauss, Liesl Laurie and reigning Miss Universe, Demi-leigh Nel-peters. Their international success in Miss World and Universe have injected new life into the pageant and has once again shown the world that South Africa is a pageant powerhouse.

For the 60th edition of the pageant, which takes place tonight at Times Square in Pretoria, screened on Mzansi Magic and M-net from 5.30pm and hosted by Bonang Matheba, it’s a celebration of many years of some of South Africa’s most beautiful women.

The likes of Basetsana Kumalo, Peggy Sue Khumalo, Kerishnie Naicker, Heather Hamilton, Jo-ann Strauss and new generation winners like Bokang Montjane, Ntando Kunene and reigning Miss South Africa, Adé van Heerden, will all be present at tonight’s crowing.

This year the pageant has been updated. A Miss World South Africa and Miss Universe South Africa will be crowned and both will represent us at the international pageants.

The ultimate winner, who then has the privilege of being Miss South Africa, will be chosen from between the two ladies.

So who will win? It’s a tricky one this year because the women are all deserving of the crown.

After being able to correctly predict winners for four out of the last five years, I’m taking a chance in once again predicting who will win this year’s Miss South Africa and the Top 5 contestants.

It’s one of the tightest years, even tighter than the 2014 group, when Strauss won Miss South Africa. This year, there are a number of front runners and fan favourites, which makes it very difficult to predict the Top 5.