Aspiring model Denice Lam crowned Miss Hong Kong in rocky year for beauty pageant
- Winner, 27, acknowledges her father Wilson Lam, a TVB heartthrob from the 1980s, during speech
- Contest grabbed headlines last week when member of police watchdog asked why women are answering questions in skimpy outfits
Aspiring model Denice Lam beat out 18 other contestants to win the Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant on Sunday, which was beset this year by coronavirus infections and headline-grabbing comments over skimpy outfits levelled by a member of the police watchdog.
Cecca Xu, 25, an analyst at an investment bank, was named first runner-up at the 50th anniversary of the event organised by TVB, the city’s largest free-to-air television station. Joey Leung, a 26-year-old specialist in programmer recruitment, was named second runner-up.
Xu, who has been admitted to both Oxford and Cambridge universities’ MBA courses, was also named Miss International Goodwill, while Leung also picked up the title of Miss Photogenic. At a rehearsal on Saturday night, the contestants voted Sharon Ying, a 27-year-old model, Miss Friendship.
Winner Lam, 27, said she could not believe she had won the city’s top beauty pageant and acknowledged her father, Wilson Lam, a TVB heartthrob from the 1980s.
“My performance was not really good,” she said. “I was very surprised.”
Speaking into the camera as she addressed her father, the winner said: “You asked me not to fool you when I asked you if I should join Miss Hong Kong. You see, I got the crown now.”
The pageant was established in 1946 and later acquired by TVB, which ran its first edition in 1973. But the road to Sunday’s finale at Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom was rocky. At least five contestants contracted Covid-19 late last month, prompting the station to abruptly axe the semi-final event scheduled for September 4 at TVB City in Tseung Kwan O.
