THAILAND: BANGKOK: 30 WOMEN COMPETE FOR TITLE OF JUMBO QUEEN
Thai/English
Big was beautiful in Thailand - where 30 women competed for the title of Jumbo Queen.
Thousands of people turned up to watch the bizarre beauty contest, which was staged at a private zoo near the capital, Bangkok.
The contestants came in two sizes: big and bigger.
Despite the blistering heat, thousands of people thronged to the private zoo just outside Thailand's capital on Thursday for the all-singing, all-dancing Jumbo Queen contest.
After the jumping crocodile show, it was on to the main heavyweight event.
Weighed in and made over, the contestants showed off their talents with the odd song and dance routine.
The women clearly enjoyed the attention and the opportunity to win the cash prize.
SOUNDBITE: (Thai)
I feel very honoured to compete in this fat women contest because fat women also have quality and value.
SUPER CAPTION: Boonma Komkarn, Contestant
SOUNDBITE: (Thai)
It's great to come here and meet friends and see people who have the same figure as me, and who are healthy and everything.
SUPER CAPTION: Nusara Onjalean, Contestant
The contestants not only showed off their singing and dancing talents, they also lifted heavy weights for fame and fortune.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
We want to give the opportunity to the fat girls, or the jumbo girls, the place to contest their ability.
SUPER CAPTION: Krien Gkrai Chaimongkoltrakul, Event Director
For a moment though, the contestants were overshadowed by even bigger stars - elephants.
They were the stars in a historical costume epic.
But then it was back to the beauty contest.
And, perhaps surprisingly, being bigger or biggest was no guarantee of winning.
It was Valaya Tonsak of Bangkok who walked off with the top prize of 25-thousand baht, or one-thousand U-S dollars,
Weighing in at a mere 70 kilograms (154 pounds), she got the best over her opponents, some of whom weighed as much as 160 kilograms (352 pounds).
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