Congratulations to Melinda Bam, who was crowned Miss South Africa 2011 on Sunday.

Melinda, who is a 22-year-old Pretoria University B.Comm marketing student, won the title at Sun City over the weekend, with Remona Moodley, 22, crowned second princess.

As part of the pageant winnings, Melinda gets a car and a designer diamond watch, as well as a luxury trip to Paris. She will also represent South Africa in the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants.

The ceremony was emceed by none other than “Idols” presenter ProVerb, and it aired live on Mzansi Magic, who bought exclusive rights for the pageant in the last year.

Celeste Khumalo, the newly crowned Miss SA Teen, attended the ceremony, and, when speaking with Bridget Masinga on the red carpet, said she felt “grateful and blessed” to have won the title.

The ceremony itself was peppered with performances by the likes of Big Nuz, LeAnne and RJ Benjamin, and the 12 finalists showed off their eligibility to be in a competition of this prestige.

Unfortunately, only one lady could win. The final five were asked their final questions, and Melinda Bam was asked what her three biggest blessings were. According to TVSA, she said she was thankful for her health, because it “enables [her] to do the things that [she] wants to do in life and to have the aspirations”. Her second blessing was her “been-throughs”: “They made me the person I am today and made me a strong woman.” Her third blessing was the support she had from her family, friends, and fans.

What do you think of this year’s winner?