WATCH | Meet the 35 finalists vying for Miss SA 2020 title

Following a rocky start that saw a hopeful withdraw her entry over offensive tweets, the 35 finalists vying for the coveted Miss SA 2020 crown have finally been revealed. 

The finalists, unveiled earlier this week, are an impressive and diverse group which includes two medical doctors, a lawyer, a teacher, a film maker, a singer and a fashion designer. 

Three of the finalists have entered the pageant before — Karishma Ramdev, Anarzade Omar and Nkosazana Sibobosi — and all placed in the top 35 last year.

Leading the pack is Gauteng with 12 contenders, followed by Kwa-Zulu Natal with six women, the Western Cape with five, the Eastern Cape and Free State with four each, North West with two and Limpopo and the Northern Cape with one entrant each.  

Over the next few weeks the 35 beauties will set out to impress this year's judges, Anele Mdoda and three former Miss SA winners, Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala (2010), Liesl Laurie (2015) and Adè van Heerden (2017).

Pageant organisers will then announce the 16 finalists "at a date still to be announced".

THE 35 FINALISTS (FIRST NAMES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER):

• Anarzade Omar (21) from Johannesburg South, Gauteng
• Anica Myburgh (27) from Bethlehem, Free State 
• Aphelele Mbiyo (24) from Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
• Busisiwe Mmotla (27) from Emdeni, Soweto 
• Carla Peters (20) from Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
• Chantelle Pretorius (24) from Pretoria, Gauteng
• Gabriella Koopman (23) from Sandton, Gauteng
• Jamie Lee Harris (24) from Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal
• Jordan van der Vyver (24) from Johannesburg, Gauteng
• Kadija Makhanya (23) from Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal
• Karabo Legodi (21) from Soweto, Gauteng
• Karishma Ramdev (25) from Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal
• Kayla Neilson (27), from Johannesburg, Gauteng
• Kea Mokorotlo (21)  from Bloemfontein, Free State
• Lebogang Mahlangu (24) from Pretoria, Gauteng 
• Lerato Manoko Malatji (25) from Orange Farm, Gauteng
• Lerato Siko (24) from Potchefstroom, North West
• Lesedi Phala (24) from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal
• Lindokuhle Mvango (24) from Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
• Luvé Meyer (23) from Cape Town, Western Cape 
• Matsepo Sithole (21) from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal
• Melissa Nayimuli (24) from Butterworth, Eastern Cape
• Melvarene Theron (25) from Eldorado Park, Gauteng
• Natasha Joubert (22) from Centurion, Gauteng
• Nkosazana Sibobosi (24) from Khayelitsha, Western Cape
• Olorato Major (24) from Warrenton, Northern Cape 
• Palesa Keswa (23) from Sasolburg, Free State
• Savannah Schutzler (24) from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
• Sherry Wang (25) from Johannesburg, Gauteng 
• Shevon Pereira (23) from Johannesburg, Gauteng
• Shudufhadzo Musida (23), from Venda, Limpopo
• Stacy Gossayn (23), from Viljoenskroon, Free State
• Thato Mosehle (25) from Stilfontein, North West.