ORGANISERS OF MISTER RWANDA 2022 have announced that they are considering holding the auditions of the contest virtually to prevent contestants from spreading the covid-19 pandemic.

The development follows new developments on the spike in covid-19 infections in the country.

The contest was announced by Imanzi Ltd in December to give young men a chance to shine through the pageant.

Auditions were scheduled to take place at different sites across the country but Moses Byiringiro, the brains behind the contest told The New Times that they are considering holding them virtually to avoid the spread of covid-19.

"Our plan was to hold physical auditions upcountry, but because of the current situation of the pandemic, we are considering taking the auditions online,” Byiringiro said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, January 12. 

"We are looking at a virtual platform through which the auditions will take place,” he added.   

Over 600 aspirants have so far registered via misterrwanda.rw applying to take part in the inaugural edition of the contest, a number that surprised the organisers who say the current turn is going beyond their imagination. 

"Given the fact that the contest is happening for the first time, we didn’t expect that we would receive a big number of applicants because we thought only a few would be interested. It’s really impressive to see this platform attracting the attention of many people already,” he said.

The number of participants could increase as registration goes until next week.

A total of 20 contestants will be selected throughout the auditions campaign. They will then go for a three-week boot camp at the National Ubutore Development Centre-Nkumba in Burera District.

The boot camp will begin on January 31 until February 11, just a day before the grand finale.

 In the meantime, the public will be given a chance to vote for their favourite Mr. Rwanda in a voting process that will take place from January 29, till February 11.

The winner of the contest will take the crown, a brand new Toyota Celica and 12-month accommodation in an apartment, both courtesy of Tom Transfers.

Organisers of the pageant in Rwanda revealed that negotiations for the accreditation to have representatives at the continental pageant are at 90 per cent as they seek rights to send their crown winner to the contest every edition.