Miss World 2011 Ivian Sarcos has confirmed she will be a juror at the finale of an ongoing Vietnamese beauty pageant, which is held for the first time to select local representatives for three of the world’s largest contests. Sarcos has officially announced she will join the finale of the “Hoa Khoi Ao Dai Viet Nam 2014 – Duong Toi Vuong Mien Hoa Hau The Gioi” (Vietnam “Ao Dai” Beauty 2014 – Road to Miss World Crown) as a guest juror, Vietnamplus – a member of the Vietnam News Agency – reported Thursday.

She said her fiancé will accompany her on the trip to Vietnam.

The final night is scheduled for early January 2015.

The pageant is held for the first time in Vietnam to select the country’s representatives for three of the world’s prestigious beauty contests – Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Supranational. 

The winner and two runners-up announced at the finale, which is slated to take place at 9:00 pm on January 5 at GEM Center, at 8 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, and air live on national television channels VTV3 and VTV6, will represent Vietnam at the three international contests, respectively.

Sarcos, who is the sixth woman from Venezuela to claim the most-coveted Miss World title, will also crown the Vietnamese winner on the final night.

She will sit on the pageant’s jury together with Truong Ngoc Anh – a local model-actress – and Vietnamese film director Nguyen Quang Dung.

She will give comments on the 12 finalists’ performance during the traditional costumes, swimwear, night gowns, and question and answer sessions.

According to the organizer, Sarcos is slated to arrive in Vietnam one day prior to the finale and attend a press conference shortly upon arrival.

Ivian Sarcos, now 25, was crowned Miss World 2011 in its 61st edition on November 6, 2011 in London, the United Kingdom.

She stands 1.80 meters tall and boasts body measurements of 90-61-90.

Becoming an orphan at the age of eight as her parents died, Sarcos was raised by the nuns in a convent in Cojedes, a state in Venezuela.

She had intended to become a nun, but she found a new passion in the world of fashion and started her career as a model.

Sarcos comes from a family of 12 brothers and sisters.

The beauty won the Miss Venezuela title in October 2010 before being crowned at Miss World in 2011.  

She also clinched the Miss Grand Slam 2011 title bestowed by Global Beauties.com in January 2012.

The Vietnamese beauty pageant

The “Hoa Khoi Ao Dai Viet Nam 2014” pageant will boast the country’s highest total prizes among professional beauty contests, according to its website.

The winner will earn a total prize of VND1.1 billion (US$51,774), including VND100 million in cash, and the official right to represent Vietnam at Miss World 2015 – the world’s largest pageant.

The first runner-up will grab a total award of VND550 million ($25,887), including VND50 million in cash, and compete at Miss International 2015 – the world’s third largest.

The right to compete at Miss Supranational 2015 – the world’s fourth largest – along with a cash award of VND30 million ($1,412) will go to the Vietnamese pageant’s second runner-up.

The pageant is the first-ever Vietnamese reality TV show to be aimed at finding and training national representatives to compete in international beauty contests.

The contest started in late September with the qualifying round beginning on September 20 in Hanoi and September 21 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese beauties eligible for the contest included those who are 1.65m tall, aged 18 to 25, and have not had any aesthetic or transgender surgery.

Eighteen applicants were selected from the qualifying round to enter the “Lau Dai Sac Dep” (Beauty Castle) stage, where they were taught necessary skills to be a professional model, including making up, getting in shape, and international code of conduct, for two months.

According to the organizer, a camera system in the building was active 24/7, watching over all activities and reactions of the contestants to bring the audience a close-up view of their training process.

The 75-episode program is broadcast daily on national broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV6) at 7:55 pm, starting September 29 with a prelude to the main episodes.

The program is jointly produced by VTV, Miss World Organization, Ho Chi Minh City-based BHD Co. Ltd., and Elite Vietnam – a model management company.

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