Miss Universe 2008 to take place in Vietnam

The Vietnamese government has agreed to let central Khanh Hoa province to host Miss Universe 2008 after the pageant's organizing committee invited the country to host the event, local media reported Thursday.

To be eligible for hosting Miss Universe 2008, Vietnam should have many landscapes, good infrastructure, especially luxury hotels and a 7,500-seat stage, and spend some 15 million U.S. dollars on the event, according to Young People newspaper.

Of the money, 7 million dollars will be paid as the pageant's royalty, and the remainder spent on covering manpower and infrastructure expenses, said the committee's head, Paula Mary Shugart, who visited the country recently.

Vietnam will focus on constructing the stage, upgrading the Cam Ranh airport and some hotels in Khanh Hoa, and beautifying the province's Nha Trang sea city, venue of the pageant slated for next May.

In late May in Mexico, Miss Japan, Riyo Mori, was chosen as Miss Universe 2007.

Sources: People's Daily Online and Xinhua

PM okays Khanh Hoa’s Miss Universe hosting plan

Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori

By Son Ha - Phuoc Ha

VietNamNet Bridge – Yesterday afternoon, September 26, Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung gave Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee permission to host Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang city.

In his decision, Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung requests Khanh Hoa’s Chairman to work with related ministries and agencies to ensure success of the international beauty pageant to be held some time next summer.

Head of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc has also informed Miss Universe Organization’s Chairwoman Paula Mary Shugart of the Vietnamese government’s approval and support.

In his letter, Mr. Phuc writes, ’’The Vietnamese government thinks highly of Vietnam hosting Miss Universe 2008. This will be a great opportunity for Vietnam to promote her country and people all over the world.”

The government’s decision made yesterday was happily received by Khanh Hoa officials. “I personally had a sleepless night yesterday,” said Le Xuan Than, Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa People’s Committee.

According to Mr. Than, there are now many things Khanh Hoa needs to do to prepare for the event. After the contract with Miss Universe Organization is signed, a steering committee will be established to supervise the construction of a new 7,500-seat stage and upgrading of Cam Rang Airport, among other things.

As for Doctor Doan Thi Kim Hong, Head of Hoan Vu Joint Stock, the unit directly in charge of hosting Miss Universe 2008, she said having pursued the plan for the past 2 years, she was “very happy, moved” and couldn’t “help crying” when she received the news.

Ms. Hong said at the beginning of October, a delegation from Hoan Vu would fly to New York to work on a contract with Miss Universe Organization, pay US$7million for copyrights, and settle other issues.

“The organization committee will then make an official announcement about Vietnam hosting Miss Universe 2008,” added she. Regarding many people’s concern that Khanh Hoa would find it very difficult to build a big stage in the Lo River Tourism Zone within less than a year, Ms. Hong said Panama did the same thing when it hosted Miss Universe 2003.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge

Khanh Hoa submits Miss Universe hosting plan

Image of the future 7,500 stage

VietNamNet Bridge – Yesterday, September 19, Khanh Hoa Province People’s Committee submitted to the PM and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism its plan to host Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang City.

According to Le Xuan Than, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Hoan Vu Joint Stock Company will be directly responsible for organizing the event.

This means that Hoan Vu itself will pay the US$15million necessary to host the pageant (US$7million for copyrights and the rest is organization costs), as well as ensure adequate infrastructure that includes a 7,500-seat theatre.

Mr. Than said Hoan Vu would build the stage on an area of 7 ha within the Nha Trang Tourism and Entertainment Zone owned by Hoan Cau Nha Trang Ltd. Construction work will start as soon as the PM okays the plan.

Foreign experts will also be sent to Nha Trang to help carry out the project. Hoan Vu Joint Stock is made up of three companies - CIAT, Viet CEO, and Hoan Cau Nha Trang Ltd.

Hoan Vu submitted its hosting plan to provincial authorities right after Miss Universe Organization’s Chairwoman Paula Mary Shugart sent her letter to PM Nguyen Tan Dung, Culture Minister Hoang Tuan Anh and Khanh Hoa Chairman Vo Lam Phi expressing her wish to see Nha Trang host Miss Universe next year in August.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge

Here she is -- it's Miss Internet 2008

Mathew Ingram, today at 1:05 PM EDT

Do John and Scott Ferber know what they're getting into? According to a recent press release that came floating into my inbox, they've decided to start something called the Miss Internet Beauty Pageant. Aspiring beauty contest winners (and we know there are probably millions of them out there, alas) can send in a couple of photos and/or video of themselves, and the winner gets chosen by the Internet! Or rather, gets chosen by whoever decides to go and vote for someone at the website, and you can apparently vote for as many contestants as you want, twice a day, and as many times as you like.

So, all you aspiring Miss Internet 2008 winners -- all you have to do is convince enough of your friends, or even complete strangers, to come and click on your photo. Or, you could always take a quick course in Java or C++, and write a script that would effectively accomplish the same thing! The choice is up to you. And apparently you don't have to answer any skill-testing questions, like the one that threw Miss Teen South Carolina off so badly awhile ago. You stand to win "up to" $25,000 in cash and prizes.

It's no secret that the idea of an Internet-voting contest is fraught with problems. As evidence, I submit the story of Time magazine's Person of the Century contest, which came within a hair of being won by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey (thanks to a blockbuster campaign by Turkish supporters) as well as the People magazine contest in 1998 to find the most beautiful people in the world, which was won by one of Howard Stern's sidekicks, a little person who called himself Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf.

It seems likely, however, that John and Scott Ferber know exactly what they're doing: the two brothers were behind the rise of Advertising.com in the 1990s, which was eventually sold to America Online in 2004 for $434-million in cash. The brothers stayed at AOL for a time, but then took what the company described as some "much needed time off" and developed a site called Guess Now, which lets you guess the outcome of future events and then pays you cash if you guess correctly.

When you go to the Miss Internet Pageant site, it redirects you to Guess Now's servers, and to become a contestant you have to open a Guess Now account. Coincidence? I think not. Interestingly enough, the Miss Internet Pageant says if you can't upload photos of yourself, you can email them to this address: steve@vandelayindustries.com. Van Delay Industries is the name of the fictitious latex company that George Costanza worked for on Seinfeld.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Vietnam will meet Miss Universe requirements: official

Reported by Xuan Hoa – Translated by Trong Nhien

The Khanh Hoa province vice leader said Wednesday that he was confident Vietnamese organizers would meet the Miss Universe pageant’s requirements and host the 2008 competition.

Miss Universe chairwoman Paula Mary Shugart has said that only once the government has approved the project and local organizers have proved their ability to meet budget and facility requirements would the panel officially sign a contract to hold the event in Vietnam.

The competition requires a US$15 million dollar investment including a new concert hall. Khanh Hoa officials and organizers are planning to hold the event in Nha Trang, Vietnam’s most popular beach destination.

Vice chairman of Khanh Hoa’s People’s Committee Le Xuan said that Hoan Vu Corp., Miss Universe’s Vietnamese organizing partner, plans to build a new 7,500-seat theater and would begin construction as soon as the central government ratified its proposal.

Than also said that government funds would not be spent on the event, but according to Hoan Vu Corp., the firm will be able to cover the cost of the show.

Than also said the province was upgrading Cam Ranh Airport to facilitate international flights while improving accommodation standards around Nha Trang to welcome the large number of visitors expected to flood the beach town for the pageant.

Authorities from the south-central province will now have to submit a report to the Government Office and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the project’s approval.

Several critics of the controversial plan have said that it would be a great waste of money to spend millions of dollars on a beauty contest while the country is still needs funds for development.

Holding such an event is never financially simple, according to Shane St. Michael, a member of the 2005 Miss Universe organizing board in Thailand.

“Although it [the event] was partly subsidized by the government, we still suffered a $1 million loss,” he said.

Source: Thanhnien News.com

Tanisha Vernon is Miss Belize Universe and Larriean Samuels is Miss Belize Earth

The Miss Belize pageant was held this past Saturday in Belize City and Tanisha Vernon won the title. She will now represent Belize at the Miss Universe pageant in 2008. Yesterday she paid us at visit and told us she is all excited about her new title.

Tanisha Vernon,Miss Belize Universe:

“Right now I’m overwhelmed with enthusiasm. I’m feeling wonderful. It’s definitely an honor to be given this position. And it’s not only a position but it’s a job that you have to maintain and I hope at the end, I can represent my country to the fullest. I think my maintenance of confidence and my hard work and I always kept it in my mind that I’m in it to win it. I maintained my objective and that’s basically what helped me to pull through.”

Vernon told us also that during her reign she plans to work very much with community groups.

Tanisha Vernon,Miss Belize Universe:

“My plan of action is to be more active in my community, work more in Alliance with AIDS. It’s an organization that deals with HIV/AIDS. I noticed that it’s a universal problem worldwide and Belize is one of the Central American country that has one of the highest percentage of HIV/AIDS. And to be apart of that,it’s definitely a task. I mean I have friends and relatives that died from this disease and so I’m faced with it first hand; not only behind the scenes but I see the up close and personal effect that it has on people’s lives. Also with orphanage, being more active in schools, probably reading to the children,help with future pageants at the tertiary and secondary level, and give motivational speeches to those young ladies that probably want to be or vie for the title next year in 2008.”

Love News also spoke with new Miss Belize Earth, Larriean Samuels. Samuels said she is honored to be an ambassador for Belize and that during her reign will try to fulfill all her responsibilities.

Larriean Samuels,Miss Belize Earth:

“It was a very exciting and a little bit nerve-racking experience, and I am very honored to be an ambassador of this country. It’s more of a prestige job I would say,that not any women has the opportunity to do here in Belize. I was very determined and very hungry. I took instructions very well, advice I listened and I executed and I would definitely say that that helped me to win the pageant and being very focused.At this moment I am open. During the course of my reign I’m sure there will be many opportunities that are open. I will experience and I will be aware of things that I didn’t know before and from then I would choose but right now at this moment I am interested in business but in dealing with the environment and everything you never know where your passion may change to a whole 360.”

In the case that either Vernon or Samuels cannot fulfill their duties the first runner up Jesse Medina will take up the post. Medina plans to assist in community service and promote the tourism sector in Belize.

Source: Love FM

New Venezuelan Queens

Miss Amazonas Dayana Mendoza, a 21-year old professional model and student from Caracas, won on September 13th the title of Miss Venezuela 2007, after beating 27 other aspirants for the coveted title.

Mendoza, who stands 1.76 m tall, will represent Venezuela at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant to be held possibly in Vietnam.

Crowned as Miss World Venezuela was 21-year old Hannelys Quintero, Miss Cojedes. Quintero is 1.76 m tall and is currently pursuing a degree in Psycholgy. She will represent Venezuela at the Miss World 2008 contest.

Miss Venezuela International is 20-year old Dayana Colmenares, from Valencia. The 1.75 m student of Marketing will travel to China to compete for the Miss International 2008 title.

Misses Aragua and Tachira were the 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively.

Completing the Top 10, where the delegates from Trujillo, Sucre, Barinas, Vargas and Miranda.

Miss Cojedes also won the Miss Photogenic title, while Miss Aragua was chosen Miss Internet.

Notable former beauty queens were among the judges, including reigning Miss International Daniela Di Giacomo; E! Latin America main anchor Daniela Kosan; Carmen Maria Montiel, Miss Venezuela 1984; Anarella Bono, Miss Anzoategui 1997; and Nacarit Molina, noted for being one of the winners in the Miss Tachira 2006 pageant, who lost her arm in a tragic accident while she was in route to one of the main castings in Caracas.

The event, which took place for about 4 hours, was telecast live to the country. The transmission ended abruptly when a deranged pageant fan (right) climbed up on stage and took the crown away from Quintero (Miss World Venezuela). The psycho fan put the crown over his head and started waving to the crowd. He was then taken away by security.

Source: Global Beauties

Miss Teen pageant delights

(l-r) Miss Teen Cayman Islands 2006/2007 Prescilian Bromfield crowns the new Miss Teen Yentel McGaw while Leo member Trisdaca Ebanks (coach for the pageant) looks on. Photo by Lauriston Streekes

The 29th Annual Miss Teen Cayman Islands Beauty Pageant was held last weekend at the Lions Centre in George Town.

A large crowd filled the venue with supporters cheering on for their favourite contestant, which added to the exciting atmosphere.

Ten contestants vied for the title of Miss Teen Cayman 2007/2008 and as is standard in many beauty pageants, the contestants made appearances in casual, swim and formal wear. The contestants also performed as a group in a musical and dance presentation and participated in the Questions segment.

Although the pageant started on the night of Saturday 9 September it did not finish until the early hours of Sunday 9 September.

When the results were ready it was after 1:00 am in the morning, but most of the crowd was still in attendance, eagerly anticipating the results.

Before the winner was crowned, awards for categories such as Most Talented, Best Smile and the Cable & Wireless People’s Choice Awards were announced.

With the excitement building it was time for the second and first runner-up to be named, followed by the crowning of the new Miss Teen.

The second runner-up honours went to Kerri-Anne Chisholm from North Side who was sponsored by Whittaker & Watler Architecture. After this, Monyque Brooks was announced as the first runner-up. Sixteen-year-old Ms Brooks, from West Bay, was sponsored by Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd.

When the moment for the announcement of the winner finally came, sixteen-year-old Yentel McGaw of Bodden Town, stepped into the spotlight as Miss Teen Cayman 2007/08. Miss McGaw was sponsored by National Security Services Limited.

After being announced the winner fellow contestants congratulated Ms McGaw and she took her first walk down the stage as Miss Teen Cayman Islands 2007/2008.

This crowning was the culmination of another year of hard work by the Leo Club of Grand Cayman who presented and organized the show, which was sponsored by Cable & Wireless.

President of the Leo Club of Grand Cayman, Anya Rankin was pleased with this year’s pageant. “The pageant was a splendid production once again this year,” she said.

“Although it ran quite a bit late, we are very pleased with our overall achievements. The contestants did an amazing job, and each of them are to be lauded for their efforts. I’d like to say a big thank you to the community for their continued support of the pageant, and to everyone who contributed to the pageant in any way, especially to our corporate sponsors Cable & Wireless.”

Source: Cayman Net News Online

Fashion Week: Tadashi Goes Environment, While Anne Klein Celebrates Spring

One celebrity fashion designer devotes his collection to the environment while another celebrates the rites of spring. NY1 Cheryl Wills bring us the latest designs of Tadashi and Anne Klein.

Jacques Cousteau would be proud. Tadashi Shoji's spring 2008 collection is all about the deep blue sea and the wonderment of the natural environment.

The Los Angeles-based designer revealed a tidal wave of flowing dresses and gowns that he says reflects the fluidity of water.

Shoji is the official fashion designer for the Miss Universe Organization and beauty queens at his show said his spring collection is one of his best yet.

"It's always fresh,” said Miss USA Rachel Smith. “I really enjoy his brilliant colors that he uses.”

"I love Tadashi's clothes because regardless it fits me perfect,” said former Miss USA Tara Conner. “Tadashi is such a sweet person, anyway, that there's good vibes that come from it."

When is the last time you've seen bamboo on a dress? Only Shoji could pull that off.

"It's a hand-woven bamboo corset bustier and – look at this – seaming, maybe a hundred different seams,” said designer Tadashi Shoji. “Feathery, real chiffon. Feather-like leaves.”

From a nod to the environment to a burst of spring, we check out Anne Klein.

Spring is most definitely in the air, as Anne Klein's spring 2008 line comes into full bloom. The venerable designer makes a comeback of sorts with playful prints and sensual suits that are impressive by day and sensual by night.

Klein says it her inspiration came quite by accident.

"There's blooming dresses – actually it all happened because my husband was painting in his workroom, in his studio and he got some of the paint on some of the dresses and I said, ‘Oh my God! That's so beautiful,” said Anne Klein creative director Isabel Toledo. “It came alive."

Anne Klein’s 2008 collection is very much alive and well for the sophisticated woman who knows how to transform a power suit into anything she wants.

– Cheryl Wills

Source: New York 1 News