Beauty contests the world over have a bad reputation. Hairspray, fake tan and a healthy dose of exploitation would seem to be the rules of the day in most cases. So when it comes to commissioning a TV advertisement for the Mr Gay World pageant – to be held in Oslo in February – you would think the organisers would do their utmost to avoid the usual cringe. Not so. The chorus of “We are the drop-dead gorgeous Hollywood disco queens” playing on repeat throughout the vignette is more cheese-laden than a fromagerie.

No mind. As Noel Furrer and James Gannaban – organisers of the first ever Mr Gay Hong Kong pageant – well understand, the mere fact of our city taking part in the international event will be a landmark. “We want to give the Hong Kong gay community a spokesperson,” says Furrer over a sushi lunch at Lan Kwai Fong Beer Bar. “In a city where a lot of people in the community still lead closeted lives, it’s important to have a figurehead.” Of course, it doesn’t hurt if that person also happens to be frickin’ hot...

The contest will be structured like a traditional beauty pageant, with entrants judged in swimwear, casual-wear and formal-wear categories by a panel of elite judges. The public will have a chance to vote for their favourite dashing lad online before the grand finale. The winner will receive a year-long modelling contract, among other treats, before being whisked off to Oslo to proudly wave the Hong Kong flag.

The process has not been an easy one for Furrer and Gannaban, with sponsors and contestants pulling out with little explanation. Such setbacks have only made the two surer that now is the time for Hong Kong to break out of the taboo that surrounds living an openly homosexual life here. “The contest is the perfect end to the gayest November ever in Hong Kong,” says an animated Furrer, referring to the recent Floatilla and Pride Parade. “Actually I don’t think there is ever a wrong time to send a message reminding people how to live together.” Mary Agnew