Hotel industry giant Sun International has sold the rights to Miss South Africa to Weill Entertainment.

Sun International CEO Anthony Leemon said in a statement that the company had been working with Weill Entertainment over a number of years on the pageant.

“We have worked with Weill Entertainment for several years on the Miss South Africa pageant, and given the dedicated focus the event requires to take it to the next level, we naturally entered into discussions with Stephanie Weill to sell the pageant rights to her after Cell C withdrew as a sponsor,” said Leemon.

The company said they had received a number of offers for Miss South Africa.

“Sun International received a number of unsolicited offers to buy the rights, but having considered the various proposals received, a decision was taken to sell the rights to Stephanie Weil. This decision was based on her hands-on experience of the event over the past six years as well as her vision for the future of the pageant,” the statement read.

Sun International said it will still be continuing its sponsorship of the event despite selling the rights.

Stephanie Weill, CEO of Weill Entertainment, said she wads excited about the new venture. “We are delighted with the success of the 2019 Miss South Africa pageant which was held on Women’s Day this month. The Miss South Africa Organisation has given the competition a new look and its success is clear thanks to the positive feedback as well as the record number of entries we received. We look forward to our continued relationship with Sun International. The Miss South Africa Organisation has exciting things in the pipeline. Watch this space.”

This year's contest received a huge response from the public after the victory of Zozibini Tunzi who was the first Miss SA to win with short hair.