The 11th Annual Mr Gay World competition took place in Cape Town over the weekend where delegates from 22 countries competed for the title.
In the end there could only be one, and he is Mr Philippines, aka Janjep Carlos.
The 41-year old Janjep, described as a “veteran pageant competitor, competed in this particular pageant twice before.
He now takes over the crown and sceptor from Australia’s Jordan Bruno.
This is the fourth time in its 11-year history that Mr Gay World has been hosted in South Africa.
Former Expresso presenter Ewan Strydom acted as host and US boy band 5West, as well as local artist Tamara Dey, kept the audience entertained throughout the night.
In a packed City Hall with an Africa theme, the contenders first modelled in their countries’ traditional costumes, followed by underwear from Niku, which had everyone hot under the collar, before suiting up in formal attire.
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A post shared by janjep carlos(@janjep) on May 5, 2019 at 2:12pm PDT
Janjep was an early crowd favourite, as the hall was a see of Philippine flags, and also bagged two other titles, Best in National Costume and Best in Written Exam.
Contestants also voiced their opinions on issues affecting the gay community such as homophobia, equality, racism, and gender identity.
South Africa was represented by Chris Emmanuel, who unfortunately didn’t make it to the top five of Spain, Thailand, Belgium, Hungary and the Philippines.
Janjep’s runners-up were Oliver Pusztai from Hungary and Chayodhom Samibat from Thailand.
Excited locals could be heard saying: “Nobody can do a gay pageant like Cape Town can.”