Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned Miss South Africa 2017 at a glittering ceremony at Sun City presented by Sun International in collaboration with Cell C on Sunday night.
Runners-up were Adè van Heerden from the Western Cape (1st princess) and Boipelo Mabe from Alexandra in Gauteng (2nd princess), the organisers said in a statement.
Nel-Peters was crowned by Miss South Africa 2016 Ntando Kunene.
“An excited and overwhelmed 21-year-old Demi-Leigh from Sedgefield in the Western Cape said she was determined to make a difference during her reign,” the statement said.
In her Miss South Africa acceptance speech she said: “I vow to dedicate the next 365 days of my life to serve the people of South Africa, to be a voice to those who are afraid to or cannot speak up, and to represent the whole of our beautiful nation. I vow to listen, to be there, to help where I can, and to recognise that we all want to be heard, we all want to be validated. I hear you, I see you, I am you!”
Before she was crowned Miss South Africa Nel-Peters had completed her B.Com in business management and entrepreneurship and was a part-time model. As Miss South Africa 2017, Demi-Leigh received R1 million in cash from sponsors Sun International and Cell C, as well as a bouquet of prizes that has elevated the competition to one of the richest pageants in the world.
– African News Agency (ANA)
