Miss Namibia national director Conny Maritz has said, for the time being, Miss Namibia Pageant Venture (Pty) Ltd will not go ahead with arrangements for the crowning of Miss Namibia 2020 due to the pandemic.

“Until such an event can be organised, our lovely reigning Miss Namibia 2019, Nadja Breytenbach and the reigning Miss Teen Namibia, Schwane Blignaut, will continue to engage in public commitments and represent our sponsors,” stated Maritz.
She said the Covid-19 pandemic’s frightful impact on the personal and financial health of all people and all nations has resulted in the declaration of national emergencies, international travel bans, national lockdowns and general economic depression.
“Sometimes, the disintegration of well-established commercial sectors and business entities have also been affected. Our country, its people and economy, although better off than most, are also suffering the adverse effects of the pandemic and the measures taken to deal with it,” said Maritz.

Reigning Miss Namibia Nadja Breytenbach has urged Namibians to maintain social distancing. “The fight isn’t won yet. And most importantly, let’s stand together as one nation – as one Namibia,” she told Entertainment Now!
Due to Covid-19, a lot of her social engagements and charity works where put on halt. “This has allowed me to reach out through my social media platforms to those I would not be able to ever meet in person. I use social media to raise awareness, to motivate and to have some fun by having live chats,” enlightened Breytenbach.

The biggest lesson she has learned is being made aware of the fact that being healthy is not given and people should be grateful for what they have and try to assist those in need, where they can.
Breytenbach has been busy with projects that include numerous charity work and she will proceed with those until decided otherwise. “I will continue working with the charity that I have been involved with before I became Miss Namibia, Side by Side Early Intervention Center, as well as utilising my social media platforms to raise awareness on urgent matters. 
Another project is ‘Beauty Has a Story’ and that will continue as well. “Beauty has a Story will continue, even though we can’t go to the towns individually, I will use social media platforms to the fullest to send positive thoughts and encouragement throughout this pandemic,” she said.

Miss South Africa 2020 going virtual
WION Agency reports that the Miss South Africa organising committee has decided to hold its coronation ceremony virtually. The entry process was introduced online to reach more applicants and the event is planned to take place later in August this year.
The social media platforms of the pageant have been flocking with interested beauty queens keen on taking the South African flag higher.
In the meantime, the world’s oldest running international pageant, Miss World 2020, has not comprehensively pronounced itself but as it stands, the event is scheduled to take place in Thailand this year, with 12 contestants already selected as of this month.
The countries taking part in Miss World 2020 include Rwanda, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritius, Poland, Nicaragua, Serbia, Colombia, Indonesia, Guinea, Luxemburg and Belgium.

– psiririka@nepc.com.na