Like domestic beauty pageants, contestants in international contests have to care for their health, style, performance and communications, makeup, general knowledge, clothes and talents. However, for international contests, they have to prepare more thoroughly.

Pham Kim Dung, CEO of Sen Vang (Golden Lotus), which holds the copyright of many international beauty pageants, said the company doesn’t fix the numbers of training courses that contestants have to attend or total training costs. These depend on the women's willingness.

“They sometimes are lazy and want to skip some skills, but we still ask them to practice skills. It is not true that we have to make bigger investments in bigger contests. The rule is that weaker beauties need more training,” she said.

Unicorp, which once had the right to send representatives to the Miss Universe pageant, said the firm will plan training specifically for every individual. The training content consists of performance skills, makeup, behavior and critical thinking. The tuition fees vary for different contestants.

Hoang Thuy, the first runner-up at Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, said before Miss Universe 2019, she attended a lot of training courses. In addition to basic skills, Thuy also practiced introducing herself, watched videos featuring previous contests and had orthodontic treatment to have a bright smile.

Khanh Van, before attending Miss Universe 2020 in the US, also took a training course and the training was recorded in the ‘Road to Miss Universe’ program. She got financial support for training from the Miss Universe Vietnam organization.

According to Dung, the lesson plans are designed specifically for each contestant, depending on the criteria of the contest.

For Miss International, natural beauty is appreciated. Beautiful skin, elegant style and good knowledge are favored. Winners need to be smart. As for Miss Grand International, girls need to have personality, good body, professional catwalk ability and good English.

In many cases, the performances at the contest are not just to show skills, but also to convey certain messages. And this was why Snake walk by Pham Huong, Butterfly walk by H’Hen Nie and Bamboo walk by Hoang Thuy and Mint tornado walk by Khanh Van were created.

A common trend in theatrical skills is training with international teachers. In 2022 and before, Anjo Santos from Philippines was the teacher of many Vietnamese beauties such as Huyen My, Do My Linh, H’Hen Nie, Hoang Thuy, Luong Thuy Linh and Kieu Loan.  Jonas Gaffud from the Philippines was also a visiting teacher for Elite Vietnam’s training center. He was the teacher of Le Au Ngan Anh before Anh attended Miss Intercontinental 2018.

In 2018, Phuong Khanh was trained at Kagandahang Flores in the Philippines. She and My Duyen, a contestant at Miss Global 2019, practiced in a warehouse with no air-conditioning despite the hot weather, in order to train for endurance.

In late 2022, Ngoc Chau went to the Philippines to have a 3-week practice in performing and interviewing with Carlos Avila Buendia Jr, the teacher of Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray. Earlier this year, UniMedia sent Thanh Thanh Huyen to a 2-week training course to prepare for Miss Charm. The major physical exercises are gym, yoga, walking, jogging and breathing techniques. 

Vietnamese contestants need to pay attention to when attending international beauty pageants is community projects which have positive effects on society.

Duc Thang