HA NOI — Vietnamese belles Phung Thi My and Nguyen Thu May both won international beauty contests on Sunday. My, 23, who stands 1.72m tall and is a student at Moscow Agriculture University, beat 17 other contestants to become Miss Viet Nam Global in the Commonwealth of Independence States. The competition was held in the Russian capital.
Meanwhile, May, who was born and raised in the Czech Republic, was named Miss Viet Nam Global in Europe. May, also known as Daniela Nguyen Nova, stands 1.7m tall and is a business management student.
My, May and the four runners-up in Moscow and London will compete in the final round of Miss Viet Nam Global in August in the southern coastal city of Nha Trang.
The beauty contest is only open to young Vietnamese women living throughout the world.
Seminar on Le family to be held in Ha Noi
HA NOI — As many as 20 speakers will talk about their research concerning the contributions made by the Le dynasty this Saturday.
The discussions will focus on the early Le period (980-1009) and the period between the reign of King Le Thai To (1385-1433) and the reign of King Le Hien Tong (1461-1504). The researchers will also discuss the Le dynasty's contribution to building the Thang Long Citadel (former name of Ha Noi).
The seminar is being organised by the Tradition and History Education Centre, Viet Nam's Le Family Council and Ha Noi's Le Family Council.
Viet Nam Idol auditions draw 17,000 hopefuls
HCM CITY — National auditions for the music talent-scouting show Viet Nam Idol have attracted nearly 17,000 candidates across the country.
The first auditions were in Da Nang on Tuesday, with more than 1,500 people aged 16 to 30 taking part.
Other auditions will take place in Ha Noi on July 3-7, with more than 5,500 candidates; Can Tho on July 13-15 with 1,240; and HCM City on July 21-25 with nearly 10,000 candidates.
The auditions will select 100 contestants who will practice together and perform in the Viet Nam Idol semi-finals in HCM City.
The jury will select ten finalists who will perform in front of studio audiences and TV viewers for ten concerts. The jury will have their say after each performance, but viewers determine the winner through phone calls and text-messages.
The winner of Viet Nam Idol will receive an award of US$20,000 and a year-long contract to promote their image in the media.
The organisers, the Viet Nam Television (VTV) and the BHD Joint Stock Company, have announced the three-member jury, including singer Siu Black – who also judged in 2007 and 2008, composer Quoc Trung and art director Nguyen Quang Dung.
The shows will be aired live on national television's youth channel VTV6 every Tuesday and Saturday at 9pm from August 21. — VNS