Our Mr Gay South Africa, Charl van den Berg, has just been selected as the new Worldwide Mr Gay 2010.
He was crowned on Valentine’s day at a gala ceremony in Oslo, Norway. The competition (previously known as Mr. Gay World) drew delegates from all over the world representing all of the continents.
Australia came second and the rest of the top five were made up of Hong Kong, Spain and China. Both Mr. Photogenic and Mr. Swimwear were won by Russia and Brazil took the Mr. Popularity title.
The competition was streamed live on the Internet to viewers from all over the world. Charl said from Oslo just before the finale started: “The competition is very tough, but I am confident.” That confidence shone through when he had to answer the main question put to the final five: “If you were to speak to an high school about sexuality, what would you tell them?”. Charl answered: “Sexuality is a private matter; regardless of what your sexuality is,
we are all the same – we are all human beings.” The 28-year-old restaurant manager from Cape Town impressed the judges and Morten Ruda, President of Mr. Gay Europe said to the organisers of the Mr. Gay South Africa™ competition: “Congratulations on your victory! He has made a deep impression on all of us here in Oslo! Well deserved. Best wishes for all his future endeavours.”
The first duty of the newly appointed Worldwide Mr. Gay will be to fly to Vancouver, Canada to take part in the festivities of the 2010 Winter Olympics. While in Vancouver and Whistler, Worldwide Mr. Gay will be an ambassador for equality and diversity while taking part in the Pride House – a safe space that brings visibility to LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) people in sport.
