Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane has returned home with the Miss Supranational crown. Mswane won the international beauty pageant on Friday 15 July, the pageant took place at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheatre in Nowy Sacz, Poland.
Ahead of the pageant, it was criticised that Mswane would be representing SA and not one of the Miss SA runner-ups. At the time the Miss SA CEO Stephanie Weil said: “Covid has forced many events to be postponed, and 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.”
But, Mswane walked away with the Miss Supranational sash, vindicating the decision. Mswane is the first South African and the first Black woman to win the Miss Supranational pageant. Last year’s winner was Namibia’s Chanique Rabe who was the first African beauty queen to wear the Supranational crown.
A warm South African welcome to our Miss Supranational 2022 @Lalela_lali . 👑
We are so happy to have you home 🇿🇦
Thank you to @Brand_SA for hosting this beautiful event.#lalelacomeshome #lalelahomecoming #lalelamswane #misssupranational2022 pic.twitter.com/YYELmrhPHD
— Miss South Africa (@Official_MissSA) July 29, 2022
This year, Mswane’s win not only marked a first for South Africa. The reigning Miss South Africa also became the first Black woman in the 13-year history of the pageant to walk away with the crown, according to a report by the University of Pretoria, where Mswane graduated with a law degree.
Mswane will crown her successor Miss South Africa 2022 on 13 August.
“Balancing power with grace” @MissSupranatl @Official_MissSA pic.twitter.com/F6yKFqTDHn
— Lalela Mswane (@Lalela_lali) June 1, 2022
