Miss Supranational: Why Lalela is representing SA, not runners up

Many are confused about why reigning Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane is competing at the Miss Supranational pageant held in Poland on Friday 15 July and not either of the two runners up.

HERE’S WHY LALELA MSWANE IS COMPETING AT MISS SUPRANATIONAL

Reigning Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane is representing South Africa at the Miss Supranational pageant held at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheatre in Nowy Sącz, Poland on Friday 15 July. Many were perplexed over why Lalela is the one representing the country because she already competed at the Miss Universe pageant in Israel in December 2021 – where she was crowned the second runner up. 

So, why is Lalela representing the country at two international pageants? Well the Miss SA Organisation says it is because the time and scheduling has allowed.

“Covid has forced many events to be postponed. This has caused confusion around the different competitions and when they are set to be held. It is also not uncommon for the same representative to attend more than one international competition during their year of reign — should the international pageant’s dates and timeline allow for it,” said Miss SA CEO Stephanie Weil previously.

So, Is Lalela the first Miss SA to compete at two pageants? No.

“No she isn’t. In the past, a number of Miss South Africa title holders competed in both Miss World and Miss Universe if scheduling allowed,” said Miss SA PR specialist Janine Walker. 

ALSO READ: Miss Supranational 2022: Miss SA Lalela Mswane identified as a favourite

MISS SA SPEAKS FROM POLAND 

How does Lalela feel about competing in two international pageants? Well she says she is having the time of her life.

“I’m having the time of my life. Making it into Round 2 of Supra Influencer is an important milestone as the winner gets to advance to the top 24,” she said in a statement.

“It was so much fun! We were given social media challenges to test our creativity – as people of influence. The first task for the Supra contestants was to create a reel that showed how their country prepared them for the international pageant,” she continued.

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