Above: Carat Cheung was elected the winner of last year’s Miss Hong Kong pageant, which adopted a reality TV format. The addition of reality TV segments and disqualification rounds in last year’s Miss Hong Kong Pageant were positively received by viewers, and the 2012 Miss Hong Kong Pageant was one of TVB’s most highly-rated pageant shows in recent years. For the 2013 Miss Hong Kong Pageant coming in the next few months, TVB will continue this streak of success with overseas reality competitions. The 2013 Miss Hong Kong hopefuls will be sent to various cities around the world, including Paris, Bangkok, Seoul, Beijing, Taipei, Istanbul, and others, in teams of two to three people. The contestants will be working closely with the city’s respective tour agencies to interact with the tourists and locals. The contestants will also work partially as tour guides to introduce the city to the tourists and the television audience. The Miss Hong Kong producers hope that the contestants will show their genuine personalities through improvisations with the city’s locals and tourists. To ensure the safety of the Miss Hong Kong candidates, TVB will employ four guards to accompany each group to their trip. Tour guide agencies hope that a close collaboration with the Miss Hong Kong organization will attract more people to sign up for these “Miss Hong Kong tour groups.” In a phone interview with the press, producer Sandy Yu (余詠珊) confirmed that the Miss Hong Kong organizers have plans to collaborate with various tours agencies around the world. Asked if that would benefit the pageant and TVB with more ads and sponsors, Sandy said, “The Miss Hong Kong [contestants] and the viewers get the most benefits. Through the program, the candidates would be able to gain new life experiences and learn more about social skills. As for the audience, they would get an entirely new TV viewing experience.” However, Sandy Yu stressed that everything is still in temporary production stages and cannot reveal too much information. Creds: Oriental Daily
