The 9th edition of Miss Grand International was held today, on 4th December 2021 at Show DC Hall, Bagkok, Thailand, where Nguyen Thúc Thuy Tiên of Vietnam was crowned as Miss Grand International 2021 as she bested 58 candidates from all over the world to win the coveted title. This is the first time that Vietnam has won the Miss Grand International pageant, one of the most coveted international pageants.
The show opened to a grand stage performance by none other than Miss Grand International 2020 Abena Akuaba Appiah and fellow contestants of the competition. After which, the queens took to the captivating podium set at the middle front of the stage, and introduced themselves one by one.
The event was hosted by Matthew Deane Chanthavanij, a Thai singer, model, actor and television presenter. The guests present at the coronation included Mr. Pongtawat Chongcharoenyanont, Operation Director, Show DC Corp Limited, Mr. Komnate Nateprapai, Executive Vice President of Marketing TQM Insurance Broker Co. Ltd, Ms. Natchaya Sirariyakul, Senior Marketing Director, AJ. Advance Technology Public Company Limited, Ms. Suphaporn Sae-Jang, Managing Director of Enwei Group and last but not the least Mr. Nawar Itsaragrisil, President of Miss Grand International Organization.
The accomplished panel of jury comprised of all former Miss Grand International queens namely Miss Grand International 2013 Janelee Chaparro (Puerto Rico), Miss Grand International 2014 Lees Garcia (Cuba), Miss Grand International 2016 Ariska Putri Pertiwi (Indonesia), Miss Grand International 2017 Maria Jose Lora (Peru) and Miss Grand International 2018 Clara Sosa (Paraguay).
The competition followed the Top 20 – Top 10 – Top 5 format this year. Out of over 50 delegates from all across the world, the top 20 finalists were chosen by the judges, and then the top-10, followed by top-5, finally revealing the winner and her court at the end.
Right after meeting our host, judges and esteemed guests, the Best in National Costume award was presented and shared by Lishalliny Kanaran from Malaysia, Samantha Elizabeth Batallanos Cortegana from Peru, Marcia Marilia Menezes from Angola. Following which the announcement of Top 20 took place, who strutted on the stage in their bikinis for the swimsuit round.
Miss Grand Cambodia 2021 Sothida Pokimtheng got a direct entry into the Top 10 as she won the Miss Popular Vote award. The rest of the candidates included Lorena Gonçalves Rodrigues from Brazil, Adriana Moya Alvarado from Costa Rica, Andrea Victoria Aguilera from Ecuador, Sophie Louise Rogan from Indonesia, Vivianie Diaz Arroyo from Puerto Rico, Jeanè Van Dam from South Africa, Alba Dunkerbeck Morales from Spain, Vanessa Carolina Coello Coraspe from Venezuela, Nguyen Thúc Thuy Tiên from Vietnam.
The night then saw the stunning contestants speak on ‘Preventing War and Violence’, which is the oragnization’s objective to end all forms of violence and hostility and rid the world of conflict with a focus on improving the quality of life for all of humanity. After the speeches, the host country for the next year edition of the event was announced as the token of appreciation and Miss Grand International trophy was passed on to Mr. Ivan Gunwan, National Director of Miss Grand Indonesia. The event is slated to be held on 25th October, 2022 in Indonesia.
The stunning Top 10 then set the stage on fire clad in glamorous dresses for the evening gown round which was won by none other than Miss Grand Thailand 2021 Indy Johnson, looking absolutely ravishing in her gala look. Vivianie Diaz Arroyo of Puerto Rico won the Best in Swimsuit award in the special award category.
The last leg of the competition was the much-awaited question and answer round, which took place amongst the candidates of South Africa, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Ecuador and Vietnam, i.e., the Top 5. In an interesting turn of events, there was a tie breaker round held between Miss Grand Ecuador 2021 and Miss Grand Vietnam 2021 as the competition got to a close call between the two. The last question was, “Why should you be crowned Miss Grand International 2021?” Both Nguyen Thúc Thuy Tiên, the now reigning queen and Andrea Victoria Aguilera gave honest and beautiful answers and impressed the judges with their wits and humility.
Miss Grand International 2021 was a grand success as it was hosted and executed smoothly, we look forward to the next year’s edition already. We wish our heartiest congratulations to all the winners and event managers for holding such a blockbuster event in the face of a pandemic.