The Miss South Africa 2015 semi-finalists – who are in line to compete for the Miss South Africa title at Sun City on March 29 next year – have been revealed by Sun International.

The 24 Miss SA semi-finalists, who will be vying for the 2015 crown, come from around the country – Gauteng has 11 contenders followed by the Western Cape with nine; Kwa-Zulu Natal with two while the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga each have one entrant.

The winner will follow in the footsteps of reigning queen, Rolene Strauss, who is in London to compete at The Miss World Pageant on December 14. The event will be broadcast on SABC3.

The 2015 Miss South Africa semi-finalists are Altina Vries, Western Cape; Aseza Matanzima, Eastern Cape; Busi Mahlangu, Mpumalanga; Chanelle Sardinha, Gauteng; Danelle De Wet, Western Cape; Gugulethu Banda, Gauteng; Iman Sheik, Kwa Zulu-Natal; Kelly Davids, Western Cape, Kim Wentzel, Gauteng, Liesl Laurie, Gauteng, Melissa Kock, Western Cape; Nicole Lamberts, Western Cape; Nompumelelo Maduna, Gauteng; Rachelle Gietzen, Western Cape; Refilwe Mthimunye, Gauteng; Roxanne Zeller, Gauteng; Safiyah Vally, Gauteng; Shane Naidoo, Gauteng; Sihle Makhanya, Kwa Zulu-Natal; Tara-Leigh Coetzee, Western Cape; Tarryn Kim Cornelius, Western Cape; Taryn Morris, Western Cape; Thenjiwe Masondo, Gauteng and Tsakane Mangwane, Gauteng.

Their list of credentials is impressive: Many have completed or are studying for degrees; one is a qualified speech-language and hearing therapist, a second is studying to become an engineer while another, like current Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss, is a fourth year medical student.

Alison McKie, Group Manager, Marketing at Sun International, said the company had embarked on an incredible journey last year that changed the concept of the Miss South Africa Pageant. “It was one of our most successful years ever with Rolene Strauss being crowned Miss South Africa 2014.”

Sun International, long-time licence holders of the Miss South Africa title, along with Cell C decided that the pageant needed an exciting makeover in order to be relevant to a contemporary South Africa

“This was achieved this year,” McKie said, “and we are now moving into bigger and better things.”

Cell C’s new three-year-contract with the Miss South Africa Pageant is in line with their Believe Manifesto and on-going strategy to empower women.

“Cell C believes that by supporting initiatives like  Miss SA and our Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day, we create opportunities and inspire young South African women and support the development of strong inspirational role models,” said Suzette van der Merwe,  executive: commercial communications.

The Miss South Africa Pageant has become part and parcel of South African life since the first contest in 1956 with many of the winners becoming household names and going on to lucrative and long-lasting careers.

Doing good and leaving a legacy is an integral part of the Miss South Africa philosophy. The pageant winner will be the spokesperson for the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® and will endeavour to raise funds to provide financial assistance to girl children from disadvantaged backgrounds to further their studies.

For the first time the semi-finalists will all visit their home-towns where they can meet and engage with their own communities.

The 10 finalists will be revealed early next year as the build-up to the glittering occasion continues.