Pink sees red as Mr Gay Hong Kong pageant turns ugly in sponsorship row

An ugly war of words has erupted over Mr Gay Hong Kong with a major sponsor announcing it is withdrawing funding in a dispute over naming rights just weeks before the annual pageant.

Gay-friendly business network Pink Dollar, a long-time supporter of the six-year-old contest, has pulled out of a planned HK$40,000 sponsorship arrangement.

Founder Paul Ramscar says he took the decision after discovering he had been misled by organisers over whether or not Mr Gay Hong Kong had been registered as a trademark.

Contest co-founder James Gannaban responded by accusing Ramscar of failing to honour a previous sponsorship deal and insisted the this year's contest would go ahead in October with new sponsors, although no venue had yet been decided.

Ramscar said he took the decision to withdraw after being repeatedly assured the name Mr Gay Hong Kong was being registered as a trademark when, he says, it was not.

"I just felt we'd been duped. I felt we'd been led astray," he said. "It's a little bit upsetting because we have put quite a bit of money into it over the past two years."

Ramscar, whose company launched an app to promote gay-friendly businesses, said that as part of the sponsorship, Pink Dollar had been promised the rights to use the contest's name in promotional material.