Last year’s Hibiscus King had some encouraging words for the 2018 Vodafone Fiji Hibis­cus Festival king contestants, who wowed the crowd in their first pub­lic judging on Sunday night.

The 12 contestants dressed lively with big smiles and walked the ramp throwing kisses to their audi­ences as the crowd cheered for their favourites at the Bank of Baroda tent at Valelevu Ground in Nasinu.

Reigning king Beniyamino Vakadranu, as the chief guest, told the contestants to think of the sim­plest answer to the questions as it would help them gain confidence and give them a higher possibil­ity of answering the questions cor­rectly.

He said, as the reigning king, he knew how the contestants were feelingbecause he was once in their shoes.

“I know how it feels to be up on the stage and to try to think of nnova­tive answers for questions you pick from the box.

“For my brothers, when you hear the questions, listen to the key­words and think of a simpler an­swer which you can give.

“Don’t try to think of big words because then you will go around in circles while providing your an­swers.

“I believe that when you answer your questions straight, you will have confidence and a higher pos­sibility of answering the questions correctly,” Mr Vakadranu said.

He encouraged the audience, friends and families to support all the king contestants.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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