The Macau Pageant Alliance (MPA) announced yesterday that it will host Miss Macau 2019, after a decade-long hiatus.
The group held a press conference at Macau Tower to announce the pageant’s revival. The last Miss Macau pageant was held in 2009.
The slogan of the contest this year is “Returning the splendour after a decade, showing the real pageant of Macau”.
The contest celebrates the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 20th anniversary of the Macau’s return to the motherland, according to the organiser.
According to the event poster, the pageant is sponsored by junket operator SunCity.
MPA President Laura Li Ruoying, the winner of the Miss Macau 2009 pageant, said that Miss Macau 2019 will be one of the most significant cultural events this year for local residents and tourists alike, “showing the uniqueness and feminine beauty of Macau to the world”.
Li told The Macau Post Daily that the contest is tentatively scheduled to be held on August 17 or 18, possibly at the Venetian.
Li said that the jury will be composed of government officials, professionals, local celebrities and former Miss Macau winners for “powerful, fair and professional” voting. She did not reveal how many members the jury will have.
After the Miss Macau 2019 pageant, the group wants to organise a beauty pageant every two years.
According to Li, holding the pageant every other year was due to Macau’s small population so turning it in to a biennial contest would make it easier to attract more potential contestants. Until its suspension 10 years ago, the pageant was mostly held every year.
Elsa Chan Hei Yu, the designer of the Miss Macau 2019 crown, told The Macau Post Daily that the inspiration came from the feminine body shape and the lotus flower, the official emblem of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR). White pearls will be the crown’s main jewellery, representing the “purity, elegance and nobility of the winner”, Chan pointed out.
Designing the gowns for the winners, local designer Nuno Lopes told The Macau Post Daily that the design was still in progress, but he promised that the gowns will be glamorous and very luxurious complete with “Macau elements”.
Lopes was the first Macau fashion designer whose designs were featured in the British and Italian versions of Vogue magazine in 2015. His designs are known for golden and glamorous details, according to previous media reports.
According to an MPA statement, the group is selecting potential beauty pageant contestants for coaching and helping them to join international beauty contests such as Miss World and Miss International.
The first Miss Macau pageant was held in 1972. It was resumed in the mid-1980s and continued intermittently until 2009.
Legislator Agnes Lam Iok Fong (from left to right), legislator Joe Wu Chou Kit, Macau Pageant Alliance (PMA) President Laura Li Ruoying, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau Promotion and Cultural Affairs Department Deputy Chief Xin Jianbo, SunCity Group IT Vice President Celeatino Ali and legislators Zheng Anting and Si Ka Lon pose after yesterday’s press conference. Photo: Kristy Chan
