We are officially one month away from the next Miss SA crowning. As anticipation builds up to 13 August 2023, the 12 finalists have been enjoying a new, exciting TV ride.
With our beloved former Miss SA, Zozibini Tunzi, hosting the new five-part TV series called Crown Chasers which airs on Sundays at 4pm, the pageant promises to come back bigger and better for the first time in 23 years.
In 1999, the pageant finale was held at Sun City with the participation of 26 finalists and was live on SABC 3.
Ever since then, the pageant hasn’t been broadcasted on the channel but that is all changing this year.
Read More | No need to be a single woman with no kids to be Miss SA – entry requirements switch up for national pageant
In a statement released, the Miss SA organisation says, “the 2023 Miss South Africa winner will not only be crowned live on SABC3 but viewers will also get to see all the behind-the-scenes machinations that go into choosing a winner, with a five-part series – Crown Chasers – being broadcast weekly in the lead up to the final event and the crowning of a new Miss South Africa, which will take place at Sun International’s SunBet Arena at Time Square in Pretoria on Sunday, August 13.”
If anything, the show in which Bonang Matheba and Leandie du Randt will be judges aims to give a sneak peek into the making of the face of the country through a series of challenges, tasks and mentorship sessions.
“We are thrilled to have Miss South Africa back on our platform. The Miss South Africa title carries with it a lot of hope, aspirations and most importantly, it enables young women from all backgrounds to showcase the power of what one can achieve with the right mindset,” says Lala Tuku, head of local productions at SABC 3.
Like the channel’s tag line ‘Open Up’, the contestants are expected to open up new worlds, transcend borders and be the best ambassadors they can be for South Africa.
Over the next few weeks, the show episodes will welcome finalists to ‘the chase’, take them on travelling to showcase the importance of being a South African ambassador, help them tap into their entrepreneurship beat while they explore the diverse cultures that make the country what it is and make a humanitarian mark by giving back to a high school.
Read More | How Shudufhadzo Musida, Ndavi Nokeri and Zozibini Tunzi inspired this Limpopo woman to enter Mrs SA
With all of this ahead, Miss SA organisation CEO Stephanie Weil says, “We are so excited and thrilled to be back on SABC3, not only for the final pageant event, but also with a real game changer that is the Crown Chasers series. We said we’d shake things up, do things differently and bring a new level of interest to the Miss South Africa competition and I believe we have done just that!”
Guest judges joining Bonang and Leandie will include Miss South Africa 2018 Dr Tamaryn Green Nxumalo, Miss South Africa 2001 Vanessa Carreira Coutroulis, Miss South Africa 2010 Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala, fashion designers Gert Johann Coetzee and Khosi Nkosi as well as businesswomen Koo Govender.
