Pretoria - The only internationally recognised pageant hosted and based in Africa, the Miss Heritage Global, will this year take place in Limpopo.
The venue will be the Kalahari Waterfront Nandoni, near Thohoyandou, on Heritage Day: September 24.
Ronald Tisauke, founder of Miss Heritage Global, said the pageant started in 2013 with the purpose of creating something “uniquely African” instead of participating in other continents’ pageants.
“It’s a story of how we always travel out and participate in other people’s things according to their rules, and we wanted to create something that is more relatable to us as Africans; that we feel welcome and don’t feel like outsiders.
“We also try to make it balanced so that even those not from Africa can also relate and participate in the pageant.”
Tisauke said that during Heritage Week, there would be three events for contestants to participate in.
“First event is the Market Day that is an opportunity for local businesses to showcase their work to the world, and for the contestants to interact with the public.
“During the Market Day, the women will prepare a dish that is typical in their culture or country, and the people will have the opportunity to taste the dishes and learn more about them,” she said.
“One of the events taking place on the Market Day is a crafts competition. The women will create a craft in front of the audience, and it is a time-bound competition.”
The now well-renowned international beauty pageant focuses on the promotion of the diverse heritages in the world.
Reigning Miss Heritage South Africa, Zabelo Hlabisa, said winning the Miss Heritage Global would mean the world to her.
“This is not just about me or winning, I’m representing South Africa, and if I win that means I have represented the country well and the world can see that.”
Hlabisa said pageants like Miss Global created opportunities for young women.
“Modelling and pageants create opportunities for young ladies, as we get to speak about the opportunities that we are passionate about.
“I am a philanthropist and I do a lot of charity work and I speak a lot about it.
“So opportunities arise when we are still reigning queens; I have travelled the world and have been to places I never thought I would see.”
The pageant will not have a swimwear section, in order to accommodate all the contestants’ cultural beliefs.
As part of the pageant, the contestants will visit Gauteng to see historical sites that showcase the history of the country.
Countries such as Japan, France, the USA, UK, Canada, Ghana, Zimbabwe and several other African countries are set to take part in the pageantry.
Pretoria News