We had lunch with the top 12 Miss South Africa finalists and this is what went down

Cape Town – On 19 March the new Miss South Africa will be crowned at Carnival City. Since Rolene Strauss was crowned Miss World there’s been renewed interest in the local beauty pageant.

Miss South Africa has delivered some of the country’s most powerful and influential women with each of the winner’s going on to become successful business women and celebrated entertainment stars.

On Friday, 19 February Channel24 had lunch with the top 12 beauties competing for the title this year. This is what went down.

What’s it all about:

The lunch, held at the Table Bay Hotel’s Camissa restaurant, was the perfect opportunity for the media to meet the top 12 ladies.

The elegant setting and mouthwatering delicious food made for a great way to get to know the contestants on this life changing journey.

The 12 women who are in competition to be named Miss South Africa 2015 Liesl Laurie’s successor are: Elizabeth Molapo (Bloemfontein, Free State); Felicia Muwayi (Nelspruit, Mpumalanga); Luyolo Mngonyama (Umtata, Eastern Cape); Marciel Hopkins (Paarl, Western Cape); Mikaela Oosthuizen (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape); Ntandoyenkosi Kunene (Mkhondo, Mpumalanga); Reabetswe Sechoaro (Pretoria East, Gauteng); Ronette Chambers (Cape Town, Western Cape); Sarah Botes (Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng); Schané Venter (Alberton, Gauteng); Sharon-Rose Khumalo (Pretoria, Gauteng) and Tayla Skye Robinson (Roodepoort, Gauteng).

Overheard:

* Six former Miss South Africa title holders are mentoring the 12 Miss South Africa 2016 finalists ahead of this year’s pageant. The girls are also doing workshops to provide them with valuable life skills that include everything from conducting interviews to healthy living.

* The top 12 have all been living together in a house since their journey started and have grown really close. They even have a WhatsApp group where they chat with each other.

* Some of the girls recently watched Miss Congeniality on TV while sharing a box of donuts.

* The finalists say the Miss SA journey as a whole has been “life changing” and the crowning night will just be the cherry on top of an unforgettable experience that has seen them grow and discover themselves.  

* You can watch the crowning of Miss South Africa live on Saturday, 19 March on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) from 17:00 to 19:00.

Our snaps from the event: