Zozibini Tunzi at Miss Universe 2021
For the first time in nearly thirty years, South Africa will not have a representative at the Miss Universe event this year under the Miss South Africa mantle.
The organization announced during a media session that the winner for 2025 will not compete in the 74th Miss Universe competition.
This decision is driven by schedule constraints.
The final event for Miss South Africa is set for October 25, while the Miss Universe finals are scheduled for November 21.
The organizers stated that the brief period does not allow sufficient time for their titleholder to prepare.
This represents the first absence of a Miss South Africa contestant from Miss Universe since 1998, when Kerishnie Naicker first represented the country under the Miss SA license.
Prior to this arrangement, contestants for Miss Universe were selected from various national pageants.
It remains to be seen whether South Africa will completely miss the event this year or if another body might acquire the Miss Universe South Africa license in time.
<pEarlier in 2025, the Miss South Africa organization underwent significant changes as three prominent figures, Stephanie Weil, Werner Wessels, and Schané Fouché, resigned, with the franchise previously losing its Miss Supranational license to another group.
As one official noted during the briefing: “There is just not enough time between the crowning of Miss South Africa and the Miss Universe finals this year.”
