The contestants were judged by Bishnu Chemjong, the winner of the talent-show category in the 2011 edition of the event; Sunil Kumar Shrestha, president of Kathmandu Jaycees; singer Indira Joshi; choreographer Bipin Gurung; and artist Manavi Bista. The scores that the contestants garnered today will be added to the scores that they will get on the event's finale, to be held on May 2.

The Hidden Treasure's director, Subarna Chettri, said that Nepali models in the recent past have shown that they can compete with anyone at international events, and he is hopeful that the models vying to be Miss Nepal this year too will fare well at events abroad.

In order to help the contestants deepen their knowledge about the various larger social, political, ecological and economic issues, the organisers have provided classes and immersed them in workshops.

They have even gone on field visits to places such as Chitwan, where they learned first-hand how climate change affects the flora and fauna of Nepal. They have also been steeped in the prevalent discourse on issues such as violence against women and women's rights.

At the event, the contestants were allotted five minutes each during which they had to either sing a song, dance or make a speech. Most of them opted for dancing or singing, with most of the songs being in English. Some, however, chose to give a speech. Prinsha Shrestha, from Kathmandu, for example, gave a stirring speech about how one can remain positive in the face of struggles.

The Hidden Treasures have been organising similar events since 1995, and they hold the franchises for the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth, Miss International and Miss Asia Pacific World pageants.