Miss South Africa supporters will not only get a behind-the-scenes look at the machinations that go into choosing a winner in its first-ever reality series, Crown Chasers, but they will also witness the live crowning on S3 (formerly SABC3).

It will be the first time the pageant finale is aired on the channel since the 1999 crowning of Heather Hamilton at the Sun City Superbowl, where 26 finalists took part. The finale takes place at Sun International's flagship venue, the SunBet Arena at Time Square, Pretoria, on Saturday, 13 August.

Before witnessing the crowning of the newest titleholder, Miss South Africa supporters and S3 viewers will see Crown Chasers, hosted by finalist mentor Zozibini Tunzi from Saturday, 8 July. In the five-part reality series, viewers will get a sneak peek into the process of becoming Miss South Africa through a series of challenges, tasks and mentorship sessions with judging panel Bonang Matheba, Leandie du Randt and a weekly celebrity guest judge.

Guest judges will include 2018 titleholder Dr Tamaryn Green Nxumalo, 2001 titleholder Vanessa Carreira Coutroulis and 2010 titleholder Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala along with fashion designers Gert Johan Coetzee, Khosi Nkosi and businesswoman Koo Govender.

"We are so excited and thrilled to be back on SABC3, not only for the final pageant event but also with a real game changer that is the Crown Chasers series. We said we'd shake things up, do things differently and bring a new level of interest to the Miss South Africa competition, and I believe we have done just that!" Miss South Africa organisation CEO Stephanie Weil said.

Click 'read more' for a first look at Crown Chasers.