Message from the Loeries Chair

This is the full text of Mdlulwa's message:

The talking is about to come to an end, in a couple of days we'll find out whether we've pulled it off or not. Personally I think it will be the former rather than the latter and I say this for one simple reason: nobody thought we were serious to start with, let alone get this far.

It sounded too ridiculous to work, creatives and suits working together on an awards show? So it bears testimony to the extreme dedication and hard work of all involved that we're now a few days away from the big event with everything on track.

We had a hard week's judging last week, and I do mean hard, there was a lot work entered and because for the first time, we did filter and final judging in the same week, the hours were long. But all went well, and for all the prior reservations some people may have had about the secret ballot judging and no discussion rule, the judges were quite happy with the process in the end. It made sense and allowed all the work to compete on an equal footing, no work was prejudiced because there was no one there to talk it up. And I'm sure as we move forward, even the minor kinks will be sorted out.

Now Margate beckons, it's amazing how genuinely excited and enthusiastic the people of the South Coast region have been so far, they even agreed to star in our ad campaign. KZN tourism is also on board as a sponsor, and I can't stress enough how good it feels to have such gracious and accommodating hosts for a change, oh... and they've told me to remind you to bring your wallets. And brush up on your Zulu, and watch how much friendlier the locals get!

Let's go celebrate our industry and the winners.