Miss Universe Vietnam pageant kicks off

VietNamNet Bridge – The event was kicked off by a press conference on April 22 in Hanoi, where organisers announced basic information about the contest, the first of its kind in Vietnam. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/ According to Nguyen Chi Tan, chief organiser of Miss Universe Vietnam, the winner must meet three basic standards applied at Miss Universe: intelligent, skilful and beautiful. In addition, Miss Universe Vietnam must have good communication skills and good English. The qualifier rounds will be held in Hanoi and HCM City, and be open to all Vietnamese citizens between the ages of 18-26, at least 1.62m tall, high-school graduates upwards who are single and possess natural beauty (no plastic surgeries, no sex changes). The semi-final and final rounds will take place at Vinpearl Land tourist site in Nha Trang coastal city in Khanh Hoa province on May 24 and from May 25-31, only two weeks before Miss Universe 2008. Twenty top competitors will compete for sub-titles like Miss Sea, Miss Photo, Miss Talent, and Miss Friendly before entering the final night on May 31. On May 31 night, they will compete in three events: ao dai, swimsuit and night gown competitions. The top five girls will participate in a question and answer round to determine the winner. Besides VND210 million, Miss Universe Vietnam 2008 will receive a US$5,000 crown made of famous Swarovski crystal from Austria and designed in Singapore. This will be the first Miss Universe Vietnam contest and organisers say they don’t have any plan for the next because it depends on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Award system of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008: - Miss Universe Vietnam: VND210 million (VND100 million and $2,000 English language scholarship), $5,000 crown - First runner-up: VND180 million (VND70 million and $2,000 English language scholarship), three-day tour to South Korea worth $5,000 - Second runner-up: VND125 million (VND50 million and $2,000 English language scholarship), one year’s worth of Calvin Klein products worth $3,000 - Seven sub-awards: VND5 million and one year’s worth of cosmetics provided by CTGroup worth $1,000 - Audience’s award: VND5 million and gift worth VND5 million from CTGroup