Tonight 15 girls will compete in the Miss Rwanda beauty pageant grand finale to pick a successor for the current Miss Rwanda, Jolly Mutesi.

The ceremony will take place at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village (former Camp Kigali) starting at 5pm.

After intensive preparations, including a 2-week boot camp at Golden Tulip Hotel in Bugesera District, the finale is expected to be very competitive.

One of the contestants, Queen Kalimpinya, jokingly said that this year the crown is likely to be "shared by all the girls because the competition is really tight and it seems like every girl is confident to take it home.”

Another contestant, Guelda Shima, said that, "even though the competition is tense everyone is working hard with hope that they become the winner.”

According to Dieudonne Kagame Ishimwe, one of the trainers and the Chief Executive of Rwanda Inspiration Backup the organisers of Miss Rwanda event, the competition this year is "really tight.”

"Previously we would have may be three to four exceptional contestants but this season, everyone has a comparative advantage,” Ishimwe said.

The new beauty queen will definitely face a big challenge of fitting in Mutesi’s shoes.

Mutesi has set the bar a little higher after becoming the first Rwandan beauty queen to take part in Miss World where she was ranked among the top 24.

The eventual winner of Miss Rwanda crown will walk home with a brand new Suzuki Swift worth Rwf15 million, courtesy of the main sponsor Cogebanque, a local bank.

Besides, the beauty queen will be getting a monthly salary of Rwf 800,000, according to the organisers, among other perks.

This year’s event will mainly focus on cultural tourism and renowned traditional dance troupe Inganzo Ngari, among other local artistes, will perform.

This year’s event will also include a talent show besides the catwalk and question-and-answer sessions.