Vietnam beauty pageant abolished at last minute Tuoi Tre The 2013 Queen Vietnam Beach pageant, part of the 2013 Sea Festival, which will run from June 8 to 11 in Nha Trang city, has been abolished to its 40 contestants’ utter shock and tourists’ disappointment due to inadequate, disarrayed organization. The abolishment decision was made by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Performing Arts Office on June 1, but the 40 finalists weren’t informed until they arrived in Nha Trang city to get ready for the pageant’s final, which was supposed to take place on June 9. The abolition followed the ministry’s inspection that revealed numerous shortcomings made by the pageant organizer, Rong Viet Co., as well as their failure to comply with regulations on holding beauty contests including the contestants’ incomplete applications and the 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 didn’t hand in their applications, while nine others submitted but didn’t sign or lack necessary documents. The organizer also failed to provide the marking sheets and the shortlisted contenders’ total scores. Also, the jury wasn’t formed until after the preliminary round ended, and the organizer skipped the semifinal and jumped right to the final. Nguyen Phong Quang, director of Rong Viet Co., on June 2 came up with some feeble excuses and said that his company would appeal against the ministry’s decision. In answer to Rong Viet Co.’s appeals, Vu Xuan Thanh, head of the ministry’s inspectorate, later confirmed that the company made fundamental, inexcusable flaws in organizing such a national beauty pageant. “We did advise them to hold a provincial beauty contest only, which suits their capability, but despite being inexperienced and unprofessional, they were persistently set on holding such a large-scale event,” Thanh noted. Thanh also stressed that the organizer is responsible to the 40 finalists who arrived in Nha Trang only to go home frustrated. Nguyen Manh Cuong, head of the organizing board, told Tuoi Tre on June 2 that he obeyed the ministry’s abolition with no comments. According to the organizer, the 2013 Queen Vietnam Beach pageant, the first of its kind if held, aims to select a beauty who can promote the allure of the Vietnamese seas to the world, take part in international beauty contests, and be a candidate for the country’s Tourism Ambassador. Earlier, the 2013 Sea Festival organizers had announced that the number of events to be featured at the festival dropped from 71 to 64 due to sponsor withdrawals.