VietNamNet Bridge - The upcoming Miss Ethnic Viet Nam beauty pageant needs different regulations from those that govern conventional pageants, say event organisers.

Criteria which includes requirements that contestants have at least a high school diploma and a minimum height of 1.6m, both included in the regulations on other national beauty pageants, may simply not be appropriate for this competition, they said.

The Miss Ethnic Viet Nam competition would gather competitors from 54 ethnic groups throughout Viet Nam, and the criteria needed to reflect the reality that many of the competitors might come from remote areas, said Hoang Huu Luong, head of the media department of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan agreed and vowed to push for a special regulation for this contest.

According to Doan Thi Kim Hong, head of the pageant organising board, as many as 100 women from ten ethnic groups had already registered at three designated offices in the northern, central and southern regions.

The quarter-final round would be held on November 12-15 in HCM City, with the pageant final to take place there between November 27 and December 11, Hong said.

Hoang Xuan Luong, another member of the organising board, stressed that the contest aimed to celebrate the beauty of women from the nation's 54 ethnic groups, including the majority Kinh group, and give them a chance to show off their traditional costumes and cultural identities.

Ahead of the quarter-final round in November, there would be a costume contest among various ethnic groups through which more potential candidates for the title of Miss Ethnic Viet Nam 2011 would be identified.

Supporting this year's pageant will be the Windsor Plaza Hotel in HCM City, swimsuit designer Xuan Thu, ao dai (traditional robe) designer Ngo Nhat Huy, evening dress designer Son Collection, make-up specialist Le Dung and hairdresser Tuan Ha Lan. This will be the second Miss Ethnic Viet Nam pageant, and the first held since 2007.

Source: VNS