Ionela Romaniuc was crowned Miss Queen Portugal 2023 at the finale of the national pageant held in October this year which won her the right to represent Portugal at Miss Earth 2024. Ionela succeeds Miss Earth Portugal 2023 Carlota Lobo.

Ionela Romaniuc represented the region of Alentejo at the national competition. She is a medical assistant and a fire brigade volunteer. At the competition, she wore a creative costume inspired by Ruas Floridas de Redondo, a popular biennial event that consists of decorating the streets of the village with flowers and other objects made from colored paper, a tradition that dates back to 1838.

On winning the national crown, Ionela took to her official social media as she processed her emotions in a post captioned, “I confess that it still hasn't sunk in to me about everything I've experienced and achieved in these last few days. This competition made me grow as a person, but especially as a woman.”

“I can say that it made me see the strength and courage that I carry, I learned that we are all powerful... just believe in ourselves and let the power come from the inside out! I grew up, had unique experiences, made friends that I will keep for life and met people who filled my heart with love and learning”, she added.

For Ionela, being a beauty queen means inspiring a society through your voice and your actions, it is being an inspiring woman who seeks to make a difference in this world, a woman who, when necessary, exchanges heels for boots and who is not afraid to face difficulties to help people, animals and nature through volunteering.

The 23rd edition of Miss Earth was held on 22nd December 2023, at Van Phuc City, Hiep Binh Phuoc, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where Drita Ziri of Albania was crowned Miss Earth 2023. She succeeds and was crowned by Miss Earth 2022 Mina Sue Choi of Korea.