Mr Gay China pageant shut down by police

China’s first gay pageant has been shut down by police for apparently not following the correct procedures.

The event was scheduled to begin today in Beijing, with eight contestants fighting for the chance to represent their country at the Mr Gay World competition later this year.

Rumours began appearing on Twitter at around midday UK time that the event had been cancelled, with gay group ShanghaiLGBT reporting on Twitter that the organisers had been told they had not “followed the right procedures”.

Organiser Ben Zhang confirmed this to Associated Press shortly afterwards. He said that the application to stage the event had not followed the “correct procedures”.