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 Vietnam World 2010 contest.
In fact they selected as many as 16 of 26 beauties after a question and answer session at July 29'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 Vietnam world 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 500 million VND (25,000 USD), the runner-up, 300 million VND (15,000 USD), and the second runner-up, 200 million VND (10,000 USD).
Besides the money, this year's Miss Vietnam World will be awarded a bejeweled crown worth 1 billion VND (52,000 USD) 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 Vietnam , 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./.
In fact they selected as many as 16 of 26 beauties after a question and answer session at July 29'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 Vietnam world 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 500 million VND (25,000 USD), the runner-up, 300 million VND (15,000 USD), and the second runner-up, 200 million VND (10,000 USD).
Besides the money, this year's Miss Vietnam World will be awarded a bejeweled crown worth 1 billion VND (52,000 USD) 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 Vietnam , 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./.
