Cleo Bachelor of the Year 2012: Finalists announced

This just in.

HERE IT IS:

The highly anticipated, annual Cleo Bachelor of the Year competition is back for 2012 - and this year it celebrates 25 years of the country’s most eligible single males.

Cleo editor Gemma Crisp will introduce a selection of the 2012 Cleo Bachelor Top 50 Finalists today at a special media event - and all of these exemplary men [with exceptional looks] are in the running to be crowned Cleo Bachelor of the Year 2012.

The Top 50 finalists, which are revealed in the April issue of Cleo (on sale today, Monday March 19), were narrowed down from over 300 entries by a panel of [very lucky] Australian trendspotters, fashion industry insiders, and media and TV personalities, including Jesinta Campbell, Laura Dundovic, and Zoe Balbi, style writer Kate Waterhouse, model and singer Erika Heynatz, celebrity designer Rachel Gilbert, DJ Minx, actress Stephanie McIntosh, radio personality Maude Garrett and model Kendal Schuler.

And now, it's down to Cleo's readers to vote for the winner. Lucky us!

So... drumroll please: here is the official Bachelor finalist list for 2012 (you know you want to buy the magazine to check them all out...):

Hayden Quinn – lifeguard and former Masterchef contestant

Nathan Jolliffe – model and Celebrity Apprentice Australia contestant

Timomatic – singer

Johnny Ruffo – singer and X-Factor finalist

Corbin Harris – pro skateboarder and TV presenter

Tim Cruickshank – Big Bash League cricket player for Sydney Thunder

Tai Hara – actor, 'Terra Nova'

Matt Doran – Channel 10 news presenter

Lachlan Cosgrove – 'Beauty and the Geek' winner

Keiynan Lonsdale – singer and MTV VJ

Theo Smallbone – designer

Andy Minh Trieu – actor and presenter of Kitchen Whiz

James Doran – firefighter

Shannan Quinn – sponsorship director, music and sports at Mindshare

Luke Evangelidis – landscaper

Anthony Papadopoulos – theatrical agent

Toby Williams – sales and operations manager

Dwayne Fernandes – world champion tower runner

Andrew MacIver – entrepreneur

Sach Fernando - lawyer and Cleo Bachelor Wildcard winner

More about the renowned, long-running comp:

In 2012, Cleo magazine celebrates the 25th anniversary of its iconic 'property' - Cleo Bachelor of the Year - with a 36-page retrospective booklet accompanying the April issue (did I mention it's on sale now, Monday March 19) and... a one-hour TV special to air on GO! in April. Brilliant.

Since former editor Lisa Wilkinson replaced Cleo's infamous centrefold with an annual list of the country’s 50 Most Eligible Bachelors (Lisa, how ever can we thank you?), Australian women have been drooling in an ever-so-ladylike fashion over the 1,200 men who have joined the exclusive Cleo Bachelor club.

Previous Cleo Bachelors have included actors Eric Bana, Russell Crowe, Ernie Dingo, Jesse Spencer, Sam Worthington, Joel Edgerton, Chris Hemsworth; TV hosts Rove McManus, Jason Dundas, David Reyne, Andrew G, Rob Mills and Eddie McGuire; chef Curtis Stone; tennis players Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter; Formula One driver Mark Webber; Olympic swimmers Geoff Huegill, Eamon Sullivan and Grant Hackett; comedian Andy Lee; radio host Kyle Sandilands, and musician Ben Lee, among others (my personal fave: Dan Murray, founder of Aussie men's undie brand Sly Underwear - he was the 2011 Wildcard).

And this year, the added treat is seeing the Cleo Bachelor journey to come to life, with the one-hour TV special to be aired at 9.30pm Wednesday April 18th on GO!, hosted by current issue covergirl Jesinta Campbell and former Bachelor Jules Lund.

Cleo Bachelor of the Year 2012 is supported: by Revlon, GUESS, Thomas Sabo, La Senza and M&Ms.

Tune in! Buy the mag! And vote.

(Picture credits: all images courtesy Cleo magazine).