Asia Rose Simpson ends Miss World 2026 bid in Top 12; Dominican Republic wins
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will have to wait for another year, as the country’s bet, Asia Rose Simpson, ended her journey in the Top 12 of Miss World 2026, after the coronation night held Saturday in Vietnam.
It also happened to Krishnah Gravidez last year after failing to make the last cut and losing the spot to the eventual winner, Suchata Chuangsri from Thailand.
Suchata passed her crown to Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic, who bested 110 other queens after more than four hours of the competition.
Meanwhile, Elisabeth Reynés of Spain and Taanusiya Chetty of Malaysia were hailed as the first and second runners-up, respectively.
The continental queens are Spain for Europe, Malaysia for Asia, Brazil for the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean, South Africa for Africa and Cook Islands for Oceania.
During the competition, Asia had a smooth-sailing start, entering the Top 40 as she qualified as a regional winner in the Head-To-Head challenge.
The Head-To-Head challenge is a multi-stage communication and advocacy segment where queens were split into groups or pairs to speak about their personal stories, convictions and Beauty with a Purpose projects.
Asia was also able to clinch a spot in the Top 20 after she was hailed as the overall winner of the Head-To-Head challenge.
She was joined by queens from Zambia and France, who won the Multimedia and Top Model challenges, respectively.
Meanwhile, Malaysia and Zimbabwe went straight to the Top 12 after they were hailed as winners of the Beauty with a Purpose.
Donning her breathtaking pink evening gown, designed by Ryan Ablaza Uson, the Filipino-American queen also entered the Top 12 as the other remaining representative of Asia and Oceania, along with the host country, Vietnam.
The Top 12 remaining queens faced the first Q&A question to get to know them and determine the regional winners and final fast-track winners.
As representatives of Asia and Oceania, the bets of the Philippines and Vietnam were asked: “You’re representing the most populated and the most varied region in this competition. What’s one thing about where you come from that you want the rest of the world to understand, and how does that show up in the way you carry this title?”
Asia shared how unity runs in her veins despite her heritage of being half-Filipino and half-American.
“We speak about diversity, and I am half-Filipino and half-American. So, I know what it is like to represent two sides of a coin. In my country, we are known for resilience, we are known for hospitality, but I know them for the love of family. And the core of every family unit is unity,” the Philippine delegate said.
“If I were to bring one value from my country to the world, it would be unity. Miss World has united 111 countries from around the globe. So, I think that this is just the start,” she added.
However, Vietnam won the round, making the Philippines wait for another year at a shot of winning the blue crown.
The last time that the country won the Miss World crown was in 2013 with Megan Young.
It was the first blue crown for the Philippines, and since then it remains elusive to the country.
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