Mr South Africa 2009 To Be Crowned at the Big Top

This year's finalists hail from seven different provinces and vary in age from 23 to 32. Betweem them, they speak no fewer than ten of South Africa's official languages.

These 15 hunks will spend four days under the intense scrutiny of the judges before the crowning of Mr South Africa 2009 takes place during a glitzy pageant at Carnival City.

Singer Sean Else and kykNET's Elouise Cupido are the hosts for the evening. The finalists will be strutting their stuff in everything from beach to formal evening wear, while they compete for the title of SA's official male icon.

Previous winners include Paul Phume, Michael Mol and Dieter Voigt. This year's pageant is choreographed by reigning Latin-American dance champion Ryno van den Berg and promises to be sultry. During the two-hour show, an array of celebrities and leading local entertainers will witness the crown being handed down from the current Mr South Africa, Zino Ventura, to the new winner.

The pageant will be directed by Mark West, who also produced the 2007 Mr.World Pageant in China. Sondag, LP Unlimited Productions and Carnival City are event sponsors.

Tickets for the Mr South Africa 2009 Final on 14 March are available at Computicket (www.computicket.com) for R90.