The heat is on in the Miss Rwanda beauty contest.

With the selection of 4 finalists among 29 candidates in Kigali, the pre-selection is now finished and 17 girls are ready for the last lap (there were supposed to be four finalists from every province and Kigali, but in some provinces they surprisingly didn’t find the required number).

And the run-up to the December 18 finale will not be business as usual; there will be the customary grooming of contestants – training on catwalks, Rwanda (its history, culture and economy), international affairs, eloquence and etiquette – but it has been turned into a reality-TV show.

According to Cleophas Kabasiita, corporate communications manager at main sponsor Rwandatel, the girls will spend the first week in Gisenyi where they will train with an etiquette specialist, a physical trainer and a dance trainer, and then be transferred to an isolated and undisclosed residence. And everything will be caught on camera, with excerpts broadcast on TVR every Tuesday at 1 pm (and repeated on Sunday).

Kabasiita explains that this will enable the public to get to know the girls well enough and evaluate their capability before voting during the finals. “We decided to broadcast the activities of the finalists, because this is a Miss Rwanda we are looking for. It is important that the public studies the girls critically so they can see who is capable, because we want an accomplished Miss Rwanda to represent the country,” Kabasiita says.

Other activities the girls will be engaged in include lectures on marketing and advertising, professionalism and confidence, tourism and economy of Rwanda, customer care and personal finance.

Rwandatel to organize Miss Rwanda 2009 event