 |
|
Pretty face: Luu Thi Diem Huong won approval from the jury and audience when she said she prefers knowledge to beauty because the wisdom is the immortal value of a person. — VNS Photo Dao Quang Chau
 |
|
Dazzling: The VND1 billion (US$52,000) bejewelled crown will be granted to the winner of this year's pageant. — File Photo | |
HCM CITY — Judges said well-prepared candidates from the southern region made it difficult for them to choose who will be allowed to compete at the Miss Viet Nam World 2010 contest.
In fact they selected as many as 16 of 26 beauties after a question and answer session at yesterday's semifinal round held at the HCM City Conservatory of Music.
Mostly students of universities and junior colleges in the city and southern provinces, the young women competed in three categories – bikini, evening dress and interviews.
The 16 contestants, many from HCM City and southern provinces like Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Khanh Hoa, were selected from the 26 who had won previous rounds held in Hue, Can Tho and HCM City early this month.
Two candidates from Australia and Belgium, Le Thi Thanh Truc and Ly Phat Viet Ngan, who registered to contest the preliminary rounds in their homeland, were among the 16 selected for the final round.
The finals of the Miss Viet Nam Word pageant will be held on Vinpearl Island in Nha Trang city from August 10 to 21. Around 40 contestants who are Vietnamese and from the Vietnamese diaspora are expected to compete in the final round.
The winner of the pageant will receive VND500 million (US$25,000), the runner-up, VND300 million ($15,000), and the second runner-up, VND200 million ($10,000).
Besides the money, this year's Miss Viet Nam World will be awarded a bejeweled crown worth VND1 billion ($52,000) that she can keep forever, according to the organisers.
Usually, the beauty crown is returned to the winner of the next contest.
Contest organisers have reached an agreement with Zela, a jewelry and diamond brand distributed in Viet Nam, to design and create the crown.
This year's crown is designed in the shape of a blooming lotus, a traditional symbol of Viet Nam. It has 606 precious stones and is made of white gold.
Zela employed master goldsmiths who worked for over a thousand hours to make the crown, the company said in a press release. — VNS