- Organisers say the pageant will not be derailed by COVID-19 this time around
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
After a year-long hiatus because the coronavirus brought life to a standstill last year, the organisers of the national pageant say they will not be derailed this time around and Miss Botswana will move forward uninterrupted amid the pandemic.
According to the organising team, this year’s pageant will move into the new normal of social distancing as a virtual affair. “Yes, the pageant is happening this year and the virtual launch is expected around May,” said the current license holder of Miss Botswana, Benjamin Raletsatsi of Advanced Development Institute, in an interview.
“We are finalising and the exact dates of the pageant will be communicated once everything is sorted.”
Although he did not elaborate on how the virtual affair will happen, Raletsatsi hinted that patrons should expect a huge facelift. Miss Botswana 2019/2020 Oweditse Phirinyane will remain the reigning queen until she crowns this year’s winner who will represent the country at the 70th edition of Miss World that will be held on 16 December at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Asked about lessons learnt from being disrupted by the pandemic last year, Raletsatsi said re-evaluation of priorities swept across the government, parastatals and the private sector as the country went into prevention and survival mode that affected the pageant.
He described the situation as an eye opener that has compelled people to swim against the tide. “Miss Botswana as an organisation depends on the support and sponsorship of both the government through the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture
Development and the private sector for execution of its projects and upkeep,” Raletsatsi noted.
He added that Advanced Development Institute (ADI) is engaged in restructuring Miss Botswana after hosting the pageant for the first time not Gaborone when the pageant was held in Selibe Phikwe in 2019.