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Remona Moodley (left) will represent South Africa at the 2012 Miss World Pageant after the reigning
Miss South Africa, Melinda Bam (right), decided to withdraw from the Miss World Pageant |
The reigning Miss South Africa, Melinda Bam, has decided to withdraw from the Miss World Pageant and let her first runner-up, Remona Moodley, compete instead. When the South African press got hold of the story, they started to sensationalize the story by suggesting that it could be due to some of the photoshoots Miss Bam did before she won the Miss South Africa contest. The speculation has now gone into all kinds of directions, with some outrageous theories like suggestions that Miss Bam is pregnant or that she has HIV. They say any publicity is good publicity but I would rather see Miss South Africa hitting the headlines for more positive reasons than ridiculous "scandals" conjured up by journalists. Here is my opinion about her withdrawal from the Miss World Pageant:
I honestly do not believe that there are any dark and highly scandalous reasons for her withdrawal from the Miss World Pageant. Melinda Bam has made it clear from the start that she would like to win Miss Universe and that is probably the main reason for her withdrawal. The Miss South Africa Pageant is one of only a few national pageants that sends their winner to both international contests every year. Some girls just prefer one pageant to the other. Pageant fans will know that the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants are in direct competition with one another. They are two very different systems but both would like to be seen as the number one pageant in the world.
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2008 winner, Tatum Keshwar, finished in 7th
place at Miss Universe and was third in Miss World |
If you take a look at the results in recent years, you might have noticed that Caucasian Miss South Africas tend to do better at Miss Universe while black Miss South Africas tend to fare better at Miss World, and Indian and Colored Miss South Africas have done quite well at both. Miss Bam might have realized that her chances of doing well at Miss World could be slimmer than doing well at Miss Universe. It could be argued that had she decided to compete at Miss World, and she failed to advance to the top 15, it could have ruined her chances at Miss Universe. Or on the other side, let's say that she did exceptionally well at Miss World and placed in the top 3 (but did not win) she would probably not have been able to compete at Miss Universe (which you could say is her ultimate goal) as she would have been tied to the Miss World Organization for a year.
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2002 winner Cindy Nell was the second
runner-up of Miss Universe 2003 but failed
to place in the top 20 at Miss World 2003 |
As for the way the two pageants work, Miss World is more focused on finding a young woman with a heart for charity. Yes, she needs to be gorgeous but they are looking for an all-rounder, hence the fast-track system that awards points that can help the girls propel themselves into the top 15. Currently, the fast-track system includes a range of mini-competitions like Miss World Beach Beauty, Miss World Top Model, Miss World Talent, Miss World Sportswoman, and the Beauty With A Purpose Award. Those scores are added to the interview scores, and the combined scores will determine the top 15. This year they will also have scores for the new multimedia part of the competition. There has not been an onstage competition for the last few years. Miss Universe is totally the opposite. What matters there is that you must shine during the preliminaries. You need to be able to command the stage and look sensational, and the final night is also almost entirely based on onstage competitions. The top 15 compete in swimsuits after which 5 girls are eliminated. The top 10 will then compete in evening gowns, after that 5 more ladies get eliminated, and only then will the five remaining ladies compete for the title by answering judges/viewers questions.
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2010 winner Bokang Montjane failed to place
at Miss Universe 2011 but made it all the
way to the top 7 of Miss World and was
named Miss World Africa. |
I believe that sending one girl to both pageants is just not worth it anymore. The two pageants are too different. Neither of the two pageants want runner-ups to compete, so sending the first runner-up is not really a great idea either. I hope that Sun International will (one day in the not too distant future) take all of this into consideration. The Miss South Africa brand has lost a lot of prestige during the last few years. People are still interested in pageants. They just need to actively promote the brand again. Miss South Africa needs to get back on national television instead of being shown on a cable channel. Miss South Africa has been a Sun City event for way too long - it's time to take Miss SA back to the people. Now, I can't see them moving the whole show away from Sun City anytime soon but they can bring back the Miss SA roadshows so the public can get to know the 12 finalists.
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2007 winner finished in the
top 15 of Miss Universe 2008
and top 5 of Miss World 2008 |
As for the dilemma about the different requirements for the two international pageants, I believe two winners MUST be crowned. Once again, the power can be given back to the people. I think they should seriously consider letting the public decide on one of the winners and a judging panel can still choosing the ulitmate winner: Miss South Africa. The other winner can be named Miss World South Africa or Miss Universe South Africa. They can alternate and every other year Miss South Africa can go to Miss World or Miss Universe, and the public's choice can go to the other pageant. Sun International can have two girls making appearances on their behalf throughout the year AND the two girls can be totally focused on which ever international competition they will go to. The public will also feel that they are involved in the process again and Miss SA might just become more popular again. Reality television has basically taken over television screens around the world so it will make sense that Miss South Africa also has elements of public voting to make sure the viewers feel that they are part of the whole process.
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2009 winner Nicole Flint finished in 8th
place at Miss Universe 2010 and also made
it to the top 25 of Miss World but did not
advance to the top 7 despite being a major
favorite for the Miss World title. |
So, in conclusion, I do not believe that Melinda Bam's withdrawal was for any other reason than being focused on wanting to win the Miss Universe title. I commend her for being so determined and I wish both her and Remona Moodley all the best. I am proudly South African and I will support them both!!!
Well said thank you so much for an intelligent "eye for beauty" for I stand 200% behind Bam she really does not deserve all this bad publicity and comments coming her way, she is a solid down to earth girl that entered, competed, wanted to make a change and won the title and now she is being bad mouthed I also think Sun International should grow a back bone and stand up for her they have to look after her this year as she has been doing with all her projects and for this reason I will never think of entering this competition even with the gliz and glamour I also have a non-profitable organization pretty intelligent girls don't need to go through so much pain when they are only trying to do GOOD to Melinda kneel at God's feet HE will always give you the strength and courage to go on we are only on this earth because of His grace xoxo
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything the brilliant Mr Eye for beauty said. I would like to add however, Miss South Africa herself could have avoided all the drama had she been honest and open regarding her decision. Sending a vague sms to a Sunday paper who is known for its sensational take on every story was probably not the smart way to do it. Unless she wanted all the attention….
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Miss World is far more popular in South Africa than Miss Universe, I do not get why Bam would be so fixed to wanting to win MU. Quiting and handing over the honors to her runner up at almost the last minute is what is fuelling this controversy.
ReplyDeleteRemember Nigeria's Agnani Darego was top 10 at MU and went on to win MW later that year under the current chairmanship of Julia Morley. Julia seem to be less interested in rivalry with MU and more interested in choosing a beauty with purpose.
Surely Melinda's decision was made well in advance and not made at short notice. Surely Remona didn't get to know this by surprise. The press release, however, was made to the public, at short notice. I also didn't notice any article referring to a vague SMS to a Sunday paper. To my best knowledge the press release was handled by SI per mail and it is, as in any other corporate environment, rightfully the responsibility of SI to handle the press release in whichever way they feel fit. From a corporate environment angle, Melinda probably had no say or input in the press release that was made. If she wanted to deal with the drama, by defending herself to her own benefit, she could have said just what her reasons were, as it has eventually, been well explained in the You and Huisgenoot mag's of 19 July. She has signed up this year to collaborate with SI, her main sponsor, towards the greater benefit of the pageant. Following her on twitter, I agree a lot of pain and negative impressions could have been spared for Melinda, but she handled it all with wisdom, grace and positive focus on helping Remona getting ready for miss World. Melinda will need the same support from SA in December. I also noticed that she has been diligently fulfilling her role as Miss SA, working hard to the benefit of her charity as well as the pageant and the people of our country. She has my full support with her decision and all the best to the beautiful Remona!
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