It's arguably the most anticipated magazine cover of the year.

And the Sports Illustrated 2014 swimsuit issue certainly does not disappoint - featuring not one but three famous faces to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Standing in the azure waters of the Cook Islands, swimsuit models Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen pose together wearing skimpy bikini briefs.

The three models coyly turn their heads and smile with their backs facing the camera on the cover. Agdal, 21, is from Denmark, and Americans Teigen and Aldridge, are both 28.

Smiling over their shoulders, the nearly naked beauties show off their tans and tousled manes. Posing with her arm draped over her companion, Agdal can be seen sporting a pair of ruched bottoms and gazing into the camera as she runs her hand through her beach-blonde hair, Mail Online reported.

Aldridge, who is best known as a Victoria's Secret underwear model, is the first model to grace the cover in her first appearance in the magazine since Heidi Klum did so in 1998.

70m readers

The 50th anniversary cover, which is seen by about 70 million readers, was unveiled on US TV network ABC's late night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live".

The edition will be released on Feb 18, Reuters reported. It will feature 22 former models, including 1964 inaugural cover model Babette March, 1970s supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, 1980s cover models Kathy Ireland and Paulina Porizkova as well as recent cover models Brooklyn Decker and Petra Nemcova.

There will also be a pictorial spread of the plastic Barbie doll, which will appear in the black-and-white swimsuit the Mattel Inc figurine wore in her 1959 debut.

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