State agency loses in trial against beauty pageant organizer

A court in central Vietnam annulled Tuesday a decision by a state performing arts agency to abruptly withdraw the permit for organizing a beauty contest from a local company last year.

The decision led to the sudden cancellation of the finale of the competition, which was supposed to be held in June 2013 and attended by around 40 finalists, and the organizer suffering over US$90,000 in financial losses.

The People’s Court in Khanh Hoa Province invalidated the decision made on June 1, 2013 by the Performing Arts Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, about the revocation of Rong Viet Co.’s permit to hold the 2013 “Nu Hoang Bien” (Queen Vietnam Beach) beauty pageant.

The department was not authorized to make such a decision, the judge said, citing legal documents.

Its lawyer stressed that they will apply for an appeal court.

The finale of the 2013 Queen Vietnam Beach beauty pageant, part of the 2013 Nha Trang Sea Festival, which was supposed to take place in June 9 last year, was cancelled by the Performing Arts Department at short notice.

About 40 finalists arrived at the venue only to go home frustrated.

Rong Viet said that they would later seek compensation for the financial loss they had incurred due to the pageant finale cancellation and permit withdrawal, which was estimated at over VND2 billion ($94,340).

The abolition followed the culture ministry’s inspection which revealed numerous shortcomings made by the pageant organizer, Rong Viet Co., as well as their failure to comply with regulations on organizing beauty contests, including the contestants’ incomplete applications and a delay in setting up a jury.

Among the 114 contenders of the preliminary round, only 59 submitted their applications.

Out of the 40 finalists, four did not hand in their profiles, while nine others submitted but did not sign or lack necessary documents.

There were also indications of contestants’ paper forgery, the inspection revealed.

The organizer also failed to provide the marking sheets and the shortlisted contenders’ total scores.

Additionally the jury was not formed until after the preliminary round ended, and the organizer skipped the semifinal to jump right to the final.

According to the organizer, the 2013 Queen Vietnam Beach pageant, the first of its kind if held, aimed to select a beauty who could promote the allure of the Vietnamese seas to the world, take part in international beauty contests, and be a candidate in the country’s Tourism Ambassador selection process.

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