WeeklySA_AdminRESILIENCE: Never-say-die attitude propelled gorgeous Natasha Joubert from being finalist in 2020 to scooping Miss South Africa crown this year…
By Priscilla Malinga
If you don’t succeed at getting something first time around – never deprive yourself of the chance to try again.
This is the message of second chances newly crowned Miss South Africa 2023 Natasha Joubert told herself as she entered the pageantry for the second time this year. For her resilience and self-belief, she eventually triumphed and wore the crown at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria on August 13.
Not sure how this is even an issue but a few ladies sitting behind us seemed disappointed as their hopefuls, black sisters, were ushered off the stage one by one and the last woman standing, the 36-year-old Joubert who hails from Tshwane, snatched the crown right in front of the surprised spectators who attended the auspicious event.
The story of her rise is about never ceasing to go for the second chance, having entered for the second time this year and successfully. Her first attempt was back in 2020 during Shudufhadzo Musida’s reign. Wearing a red Gert-Johan Coetzee designed dress, Joubert showed confidence throughout the contest. It was as if she knew she had it all along.
Her home ground advantage was also evident as the crowd screamed on top of their voices in her support each time she walked on stage. This would boost anyone’s confidence as well as be helpful in winning judges’ hearts. One thing’s for sure, though, Joubert is a beautiful woman with a bright smile and infectious zest for life. It’s easy to tell that she loves to laugh too.
At the media event after the show, she met up with a group of representatives from media houses to answer questions relating to her crowning. As she sat down, she held her crown, and said, “In 26 years of my life I waited to wear this and it is such a unique feeling and the crown fits well and it’s designed perfectly.”
She said she looked at the crown at the reveal and it spoke to her. She put emphasis on the fact that she would like to fight for education rights for all and to build infrastructure to this end with the assistance of all her partners.
In her mission statement, she said she was planning on working tirelessly for those in need of a second chance, adding that South Africa faced so many social issues and the base of it being education. Education should never be a privilege limited to the fortunate few, she said.
She knew how it felt like to be financially secluded and that many South Africans know how that feels. She believed that people in power should come together so they could give this generation an equal chance to education.
All those who were hoping to see how she will do in the Miss World and Miss Universe pageant would be disappointed to hear that she will not be competing on those platforms as she wants to keep her main focus on what she can do in South Africa.
This after Joubert represented Miss South Africa at 2020’s Miss Universe Pageant, where she didn’t make it to the top 21.
The organisers of this glamorous event understood the assignment as everything went smooth except for the VIP Parking which we ended up not finding. Communication to the media was very precise and by the time we got to the event we already knew where to go.
We did not anticipate such huge crowds at the VIP foyer but then an event of such high calibre is attended by the big guns of the industry and that is why it was full to capacity with food and drinks everywhere.
My favourite was the dessert table, sweet-toothed individuals like myself wanted to grab a chair and sit there, everything looked and tasted amazing, well done to the chef.
Finding our seats was easy as the ushers at work were proactive and showed every person where their seats were. We were placed not far from the stage which made our experience memorable as we could see all contestants as they entered the stage. The event was recorded live by SABC 3 and we were allowed to take a five-minute break to get drinks etc. Azania kept the crowd entertained until Bonang Matheba, the official host got on stage to run the programme. She looked stunning in a red couture dress probably designed by Gert- Johan Coetzee. And changed to different attires throughout the night.
The crowd was entertained by performers such as Robot Boii, Joan Siki, Brenda Mntambo and Jimmy Nevis.
Joubert was flanked by her friends and family at the event and at the post-media conference. Miss South Africa walked away with prizes ranging from a million rand cash prize, Mercedes Benz, a luxurious fully furnished two-bedroom apartment, Sun International accommodation amongst other prizes and sponsorships. New adjustments were made to the criteria, which included allowing married women with children to enter and the age limit moved to 29, which means the queen might be 30 during her reign.
Published on the 112th Edition
