Hong Kong — The global recruitment drive for this year’s Miss Hong Kong Pageant has begun, the Hong Kong broadcaster TVB announced at a press conference on May 10.
The broadcaster announced in April 2020 that it was suspending the beauty contest for the first time in its 48-year history due to the pandemic but backtracked a few weeks later by shifting the contest to a fully virtual format.
This year’s pageant’s theme is “We Miss Hong Kong”, which would make a lot more sense if last year’s pageant was actually cancelled.
Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang, now TVB deputy general manager and former host of the pageant, told reporters that he will be involved with the audition process.
Contestants do not need to live in Hong Kong to join the pageant, reported 8days.sg. They come all from parts of the world hoping to be the next Anita Yuen (Miss Hong Kong 1990) or Michelle Reis (Miss Hong Kong 1988).
The contestants are just required to have a Hong Kong ID or be born in Hong Kong with a valid birth certificate. The 2020 winner Lisa-Mare Tse came from Scotland while the 2013 winner Grace Chan was from Vancouver, Canada.
Covid-19 has made travelling a hassle. Asked about that, Tsang responded: “That’s why the recruitment drive was brought forward, so hopefully the overseas delegates will have enough time to return to Hongkong for their quarantine,” he added.
The actor also said he “won’t force” the delegates to get vaccinated; the choice is up to them. However, he did say: “If they get vaccinated, it would be more convenient for them to enter and leave [Hongkong].”
Tsang hopes to do an overseas shoot with this year’s contestants. It is a Miss Hong Kong Pageant tradition to go on a location shoot in another country. Tsang said the chance of that happening depends on the pandemic situation. Singapore is one country he hopes to go on a location shoot, he added, because of the city-state’s travel bubble with Hong Kong. The annual pageant is usually held in the last week of August or the first week of September. /TISG