Johannesburg - Another shining star from Limpopo is set to grace the international stage for the Miss Universe pageant.
Ndavi Nokeri, Miss South Africa 2022, is preparing for her journey to New Orleans, Louisiana, where the 71st edition of the pageant will be staged on January 14, 2023.
Nokeri is the third winner from Limpopo after Shudufhadzo Musida was crowned in 2020 (the first since Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala in 2010). She confidently expressed her preparedness ahead of her December 31 departure for the US, marking a poetic start of another chapter of her dream as a beauty queen.
“With the reveal and getting everyone on board and excited, it really made everything much more real and that comes with so much more excitement and makes it real. I’m very excited and have been working on my preparations,” Nokeri said.
At an official farewell event hosted in Sandton by the Miss South Africa organisation, Nokeri proudly displayed her national costume and teased her outfits for the pageant through her farewell gown (designed by Juan Visser of Juan William Aria). Nokeri’s cultural identity played an integral role not only in her journey to the crown but in her costume for the national costume competition segment of Miss Universe.
“From the very beginning of my Miss South Africa journey, I’ve always wanted to highlight the importance of putting my culture in the spotlight because that is something I never saw. It was important that wherever I go that should shine through, that yes, I am African and South African, at the core I am Tsonga and that makes me different,” Nokeri explained.
Designed by Sello Medupe of Scalo Designs and Henk Henderson of Henderson Worx, Nokeri unveiled a short, beaded, strapless yellow dress with yellow beaded shoulder appliques and high neck detail. Along with a pink African Lily headpiece, she will wear a pair of wings in the shape of the African continent, with the left panel displaying all 54 flags of Africa, and the South African flag painted on the right panel.
Werner Wessels, Miss South Africa creative director, said: “For the first time in our national costume, we also wanted to have Africa represented. One part of the wing will be the South African flag which we are proud to carry across the world stage.”
“With the wings, we wanted to showcase flight and represent something that is ascending because African women in the world are busy rising; we are seeing this in so many pop culture moments such as The Woman King and Wakanda Forever. Audiences are really taking notice of African culture – specifically focused on African women – and Ndavi is proud to represent that.”
In her game plan Nokeri said, she planned to make use of her growth in the past few months as Miss South Africa and the launch of her advocacy campaign on education (Ed-Unite), to grab the judges’ attention.
Nokeri said that part of her preparations included getting advice on handling the pressure of the competition from former queens like Zozibini Tunzi, Tamryn Green, Miss Supranational 2022 Lalela Mswane, and Musida.
In the last edition of the pageant, first-runner-up Natasha Joubert failed to qualify for the top twenty. Her placement ended South Africa’s consistent run which gave us two titles (Demi-Leigh Nel Pieters in 2017 and Zozibini Tunzi in 2019 respectively). Nokeri is confident that her passion and competitive nature will push her into the ranks for the Miss Universe jewelled crown.
But that isn’t her ultimate goal as Miss South Africa; it’s to push for equal educational opportunities and make an impactful change in our nation through the platform.
“We can look at Shudufhadzo and she’s now a UN Women ambassador advocating mental health. We look at Zozi, she is an actress. We look at Demi-Leigh, she is doing amazing work with American organisations to give back. The impact lives beyond that one year of reign,” Nokeri said.
“The women on this platform always do more and become real leaders that drive change, and I think pageants show that our femininity can no longer be seen as weakness. It’s a space that demands respect for women.”