Miss South Africa 2025: Red carpet chaos and a new era for the pageant
Miss SA 2025 Finale - the co-chairs (L-R) Basetsana Kumalo, Peggy Sue Khumalo, Liezel van der Westhuizen and Ayakha Ntunja
Image: Indirect Media
The 67th Miss South Africa pageant took place at Sun Bet Arena in Tshwane, ushering in a new era for the long-running beauty pageant.
Having attended Miss SA three times as a VIP guest and working guest, I have come to understand what to expect from the prestigious event. This year’s event, however, was different from the previous pageants; it must be the new era.
Most major events in Gollywood never stick to the stipulated times on their aide memoires; however, Miss SA is usually the one event that adheres to the schedule. This year, however, the red carpet ran behind schedule.
Entry into the red carpet was delayed as vendors did the finishing touches to signage and vacuumed the carpet clean. What a sight, but let’s blame the hectic traffic delay on the N1 that happened on Friday, which disrupted everything.
SunBet Arena is usually buzzing with fans screaming in excitement, signalling that something is happening at the venue, but on arrival, attendees waiting to go in could have been mistaken for people visiting the casino.
One of my favourite things about the Miss South Africa finale is how it brings out celebrities to the event, but wow, crickets at this year’s carpet. Was there a silent boycott that people aren’t entering this new era that I missed?
Of course, there are a few people who made sure to come out and mingle and speak to the media, and thankfully, people took time to look their best for the A-list event.
The media line started controlled, but somewhere along the line, order got disrupted, despite the setup of the carpet being designed perfectly. On one side, all the VIP ticket holders and on the other side, for all the personalities, allowing for media interviews, yet there were still moments when the carpet just didn’t flow.
Red carpets are never a breeze and constantly need a person to do their breathing exercises because it’s one another from people interrupting interviews to waiting around for what feels like forever just to secure.
It’s hard not to give the Miss South Africa organising team grace, putting together this show mustn’t have been easy, from the noise from the public to things going wrong. But seeing the team's effort to assist the media in gaining entry or getting interviews and pictures showed that there is hope.
Watching the production live from the venue versus a TV screen is different. From the venue, it certainly seemed that organisers tried their level best to give a good show. Host Nomalanga Shozi had all eyes on her fans and critics, but she came prepared from outfits to delivery.
Her co-host, Pamela Mtanga, deserved more on-screen time, and it's a pity that audiences inside the venue didn’t get to see her in all her glory on the screens.
The night had a great group of talented artists, but Ciza and Lordkez certainly don’t have one hit song; they could have at least performed a medley instead of just performing their most well-known songs. At least Makhadzi and Langa Mavuso performed medleys of their songs, and their performances were synchronised to what was happening with the pageant.
Overall, the new era of Miss South Africa can succeed, but they need to iron out the behind-the-scenes kinks so that they can seem like they have their house in order, even if they don’t.
IOL