Formation 1993 Legal status In Hiatus Location Singapore | Type Beauty pageant Headquarters Singapore Official language English | |
Similar Mister International, Mister World, Mister Global | ||
Manhunt International is an international male beauty pageant which began in 1993, though the roots of the pageant go back a few years more to when one single national preliminary was held in Singapore. The pageant is held by Metromedia Singapore and Procon Leisure International.
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History
The Manhunt Contest started in 1987, when Alex Liu, pageant director of Exclusive Resources Marketing Pte Ltd, decided to stage the first male model contest in Singapore, as there were numerous pageants for women and none for men. Liu consequently planned and engineered the first Manhunt contest in Singapore.
Manhunt became Manhunt International in 1993. It was first held in Australia's Gold Coast in 1993, when Germany's Thomas Sasse took the first Manhunt International title among 25 contestants. In 1994, the pageant remained in Australia's Gold Coast when Nikos Papadakis of Greece won. The Manhunt International event was then a joint partnership with an Australian partner, Procon Leisure International Pty Ltd, headed by Rosko Dickinson.
One of the pageant's most successful years was in November 1995 when 35 contestants went to Sentosa Island, Singapore, to compete for the title. The cash award and prizes for 1995's winner exceeded $90,000.
The last edition of the competition was held in 2012. This event will take place again in 2016 after a four-year hiatus.
Competition
The Manhunt competition is staged in two rounds, preliminary and final. During the preliminary round, the contestants are judged in national costume, swimwear, evening wear and fashion wear. The contestants with highest scores are named as finalists, from which the judges determine the winner and the runners up.
During the pageant final, several other awards also given beside the ultimate title of Manhunt International: Best in National Costume, Best Runway Model, Mister Photogenic, Mister Friendship, Mister Personality, Mister Physique and Mister Popularity (voted by the public via internet). Since the 2005 edition, Manhunt International has also given five continental awards to the best representatives of each continent. In the 2007 edition, it was announced that the winner of Mister Popularity would automatically advance to final round.