The Big Issue SA birthday edition, SA's Playboy Playmate of the year announcement

The Big Issue birthday edition cover

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Birthday fun

The birthday edition of The Big Issue carries a cheeky, fun cover produced in partnership with ZA News and featuring three of South Africa's key figures: Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma and Helen Zille.

"There's also a fourth surprise guest, who readers will only discover once they buy and open the magazine," said Melany Bendix, editor. "I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but I can reveal that readers will see a lot more of a certain suspended youth leader than they ever imagined they would."

Cheeky cover aside, the 15th birthday edition is a poignant, fascinating and at times quirky look at the magazine's place in South African history.

"The magazine is and always has been so much more than 'just a magazine'. It is fundamentally, about people - from the people who went against all predictions of failure to launch this social enterprise, to the vendors who are the life force of the street paper. So it is fitting that our 15th birthday edition pays tribute to the pioneers, vendors and readers, who are the single biggest reason for our success," said Bendix.

Charting the road less travelled

The tribute kicks-off with Ray Joseph, former editor, taking readers back to the beginning of the dream, where a group of determined people plotted the launch of Cape Town's first street paper over a kitchen table.

"It was born out of a real need, and a sense that something had to be done to offer the desperate and marginalised street people of Cape Town an alternative to begging or petty crime," writes Joseph.

Four long-time vendors then pick up the story by reflecting on their journey with the organisation over the years. "The magazine was very risqué at that time, but I liked that they took risks and it was so in-your-face," recalls Stella Phillips, a vendor for 13 years.

Global perspective

Vendors from sister street papers across the globe - from Slovenia to Japan - wrote on what birthdays mean to them. The edition also features weird and wonderful birthday traditions from around the globe.

"We of course also had to take a trip down memory lane and look at the most iconic covers published over the past 15 years and we placed these into context of the big history-making moments and headlines for each year," added Bendix.

"For our birthday we also wanted to give back to readers, so we've lined up a host of great competitions - from Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts to Table Mountain Aerial Cable car trips and shows at Theatre on the Bay," said Angie McErlean, marketing manager.

Sign online for birthday wishes

Notable South Africans from Helen Zille to the Parlotones, Jack Parow and Nic Rabinowitz, to name a few, sent their birthday wishes. The public is being encouraged to join them by signing the online birthday card on www.bigissue.org.za, tweeting wishes to @BigIssueSA or posting their message on its Facebook wall.

Playboy Playmate

The announcement will take place at a VIP event in Johannesburg tonight, Friday 17 February 2012, and is the first time in many years that Hefner, has involved himself in any foreign edition's selection of a Playmate of the Year, who will win a significant amount of prizes, including a trip to the Playboy Mansion in LA.

"This celebration has given great impetus to the magazine, at the start of 2012," says editor-in-chief Charl du Plessis. "We are experiencing momentum on all business fronts. We have turned the corner from a tough first year and we see the conversation changing away from the boring nudity-or-not towards one of how to get brands involved in this passionate and happy man-space."

The public can meet all of the Playboy Playmates at an open event in Johannesburg on Saturday night.