Nha Trang welcomes Miss Earth contestants

From left to right: the Spanish, Colombian, and Venezuelan contestants arriving at the Cam Ranh Airport Beautiful women from 30 different countries arrived in the coastal city of Nha Trang yesterday afternoon to compete for the Miss Earth 2007 crown, held in Vietnam for the first time.

Nha Trang's Cam Ranh Airport was crowded with organizers, correspondents, onlookers and police in the afternoon as the international beauty contestants hit the ground. As the convoy left the airport, they were flanked by colorful signs welcoming visitors for the Miss Earth 2007 competition. As Miss Peru Odilia Garcia left the airport she praised the hospitality of the Vietnamese. While admitting that she was tired after a long journey, Odilia said that she was in high spirits for the upcoming competition. After traveling the 30 km from Cam Ranh Airport to the contest venue at Vinpearl Land, Miss Australia Victoria Stewart expressed her awe of the beautiful landscape of the region. Asked her feeling about the local environment, another beauty commented, “Like any other countries, Vietnam needs to care for its environment. With such a beautiful beach, there's lots of work to do to keep the city and beaches clean.” The beauty contestants had little time to rest after arriving at Vinpearl Land before the press briefing which was scheduled at 5 p.m. At the press conference and welcoming ceremony, chairman of the Philippines-based Carousel Production Inc., Ramon S. Monzon expressed his gratitude to the local organizers, namely Thanh Nien Newspaper, Elite Vietnam and the Vinpearl Company. Monzon said he is proud that Miss Earth has grown since its inception in 2001 to become one of the world's three most prestigious pageants. He went on to say that the Miss Earth competition has given a platform to beautiful young women interested in making a difference in global conservation efforts. Candidates share their views At the press briefing, 30 candidates came to the stage one at a time to express their viewpoints about the pageant and its mission of promoting environmental conservation. Onlookers were particularly impressed by Miss Australia Victoria Stewart’s speech when she stated emphatically, “I would like to send a message: We all need to take action and take care of the environment. We must protect future generations!” While Canadian representative Jessica Trisko focused on starting grassroots environmental education with children around the world, the Czech delegate focused attention to cooperative efforts and consensus building among nations. Miss Ukraine Galyna Andreeva claimed that today more and more people approve of the global conservation effort, and added that the Miss Earth pageant will not only help publicize this issue, but will highlight the host country Vietnam to a world audience. Hectic schedule The pageant participants have a busy schedule before the contest. They are taking part in environment protection activities this morning by planting trees and picking up rubbish around Nha Trang Beach. In the afternoon they will interact with underprivileged children and give out gifts to them. In the evening they will attend an extravagant gala dinner where admirers and audience members will have the opportunity to meet them and take their picture. Of the five portions of the contest, one features a local flavor. The beauty contestants will each be judged in a segment where they are wearing traditional Vietnamese ao dais. A torn-up road at the Nguyen Thai Hoc-Hoang Van Thu intersection could scare away tourists Reported by Luu Hong-Da Ly http://www.thanhniennews.com/