Bikinis, bods and beauties will be the centre of attention this New Year's Eve when the annual ZM Miss Mount Maunganui competition returns.

Registrations are now open for the summer competition on December 31, which invites bikini-clad babes to grace the iHeartRadio beach stage in a bid to be crowned Miss Mount Maunganui 2014.

Miss Mount Maunganui 2013 contestants, second place, Sarah Halvorson, 20, from Whangarei, Miss Mount Maunganui Ceri McVinnie, 22, from Matamata, and third place Talitha Barton, 19, from Te Puke. Photo by: Tracy Hardy.

Tots and teens are also invited on stage for the Little Miss Sunshine and Miss Teen Mount competitions, with the fellas encouraged to strut their stuff too for the returning Mr Mount event.

NZME brand engagement co-ordinator Monique Thomas-Long says this year's competition is bigger and better than ever, with Sanctum Beauty Therapy and Spa and other Tauranga businesses offering some major prizes.

'The winner of Miss Mount 2014 will also feature in Girlfriend Magazine,” she says. 'I think all of this takes the competition to a whole new level.”

Monique says along with the return of Miss Teen and Mr Mount, introduced for the first time last year, they've also secured 'some very talented judges” for 2014.

'These will be released at a later date,” she adds. 'But we can say that one of the judges already wears a crown.”

Bay of Plenty represents fun, lively and confident people, says Monique, who believes that's exactly what the judges will be searching for.

The cut-off age for Miss and Mr Mount entrants is 27 – but Monique says that's just a guideline.

'ZM Miss Mount is an event targeting the young beach goers. But if we have a hottie who is 30-years-old they should definitely still enter. This is more of a guide line - we are flexible.”

With entries going live on the ZM website yesterday, Monique is expecting hundreds of 'hotties” to register.

'We also expect people to register and travel for the event,” she adds. Last year we even had an entry from Christchurch.

'Every year ZM Miss Mount is a highlight of summer. I think the Bay would be shocked if we didn't host it.”

ZM Miss Mount Maunganui 2014 is at the iHeartRadio stage at Mount Main Beach on December 31 from 3pm. Register online at: zmonline.com