The search for the ultimate gay man in South Africa, 2010, is on! Last year's winner, Charl van den Berg, went on to also win the Mr Gay World competition, so these are big shoes to fill.
This year will see four ‘Regional Finals’ of which the winner and the first runner-up will automatically qualify as finalists in the Mr Gay South Africa 2010 competition, producing 8 finalists.
1. East – has already taken place at the 2010 Pink Loerie in Knysna;
2.The Central Regional Final (Durban) will happen at Durban View Guest House, 16 Holstead Gardens, Musgrave, in Durban on Sat. 24 July 2010 at 8 pm. Contestants to be ready at 5 pm for rehearsals and interviews. (See http://www.durbanview.co.za/ ).Central – scheduled for 24 July at Durban View Guest House @ 8 pm;
3.The South Regional Final (Cape Town) will happen at The Glen Boutique Hotel, 3 The Glen, Sea Point in Cape Town on Sat. 7 Aug. 2010 at 8 pm. Contestants to be ready at 5 pm for rehearsals and interviews. (See http://www.glenhotel.co.za/ );
4.North – to be held in Gauteng towards the middle of August (date and venue to be announced).
Mr. Gay South Africa™ is a registered and trademarked competition founded to present a professional pageant for gay men in South Africa. The aim is to host well-organised and up-market events around the country in the search for the ultimate gay man in South Africa – a candidate of which the entire LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) community could be proud.
The regional finals will culminate in the Grand Finale at the end of the year. The spectacular Grand Finale in the Opera House of the State Theatre last year, in front of more than 1000 people, was something to behold – the biggest national gay event of its kind in Africa.
Two of the directors of the Mr Gay South Africa™ company, Cor Janse van Rensburg and Juan Lerm have left to further their careers abroad and the new board consists of Coenie Kukkuk from Pretoria, who is staying on from last year, Barry Vorster from Johannesburg and Hennie Crafford from Cape Town, so the main centres where the biggest gay populations are, are represented on the Board.
The new board has also managed to secure Juan’s services as Operational Consultant and his advice will surely be of great value. Much of the team of co-workers of 2009 will stay on such as Gerrit Prinsloo, choreographer, who will this year also help manage operations, John-Louis O’Neil, who will be in charge of logistics, Leon Nel from Alternative Travel (the cruise company), who will assist with the cruise, and many others.
To book as audience for the regional events, write to hennie@mrgaysouthafrica.co.za. Entry is R80 in Durban with a free drink and R60 in Cape Town and you have to mail to book.
Any out and proud gay man between the ages of 18 and 40 may enter at any one of the regional finals. It is not bound by province or city – whichever is the most convenient.
Contestants are invited to enter the competition now – by filling in the form on the website www.mrgaysouthafrica.co.za/entry-form .
The Directors will invite four wild cards on merit. As was done last year, they will take all twelve finalists, chosen from across South Africa, on a cruise onboard the MSC Sinfonia from Durban to Mozambique for 4 days for pre-judging. This will be followed by the big Gala Event where the winner will be chosen. You too can go on the cruise which takes place from 15 to 19 November. Contact Leon Nel from Rainbow Cruises on leon@alternativetravel.co.za to book a cabin. There are “early bird” specials available. Any finalist who is not able to go on the cruise, will be disqualified as the pre-judging on the cruise is an essential part of the process of choosing 2010's winner.
Sponsors who are interested in becoming part of this prestigious event, should contact Hennie on hennie@mrgaysouthafrica.co.za. Advertisers should contact Barry on barry@mrgaysouthafrica.co.za and if you want to host any of the Regional Finals at your venue, or for ny other enquiries, contact Coenie at coenie@mrgaysouthafrica.co.za.