Beauty queens flocked to Puerto Rico on Wednesday once again for the finals of Miss World 2021 after the event was delayed from December following an outbreak of Covid-19 among contestants.
Scroll through the gallery above to see photos of the contestants in Puerto Rico in December.
Reigning Miss World, Toni-Ann Singh from Jamaica, the longest title-holder in history, took to the stage to perform a rendition of Never Enough from The Greatest Showman, before crowning her successor.
Poland's Karolina Bielawska took the title of Miss World 2021, with Shree Saini from the US as first runner-up and Olivia Yace from Cote d'Ivoire as second runner-up.
The other candidates in the top six were Pricilia Carla Yules from Indonesia, Karolina Vidales from Mexico and Anna Leitch from Northern Ireland.
Manasa Varanasi from India was in the top 12, as did Miss Philippines Tracy Maureen Perez, an engineer and host, who wore a gown by Filipino designer Harvey Cenit, who lives and works in the UAE.
Miss Somalia Khadija Omar, the first hijab-wearing Miss World contestant, made the top 40.
The finals, which were hosted by British singer Peter Andre and Mexican star Fernando Allende, took place at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
During the pageant, a 70-piece Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra performed while candles were also lit for Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues. Candidates sang Andrea Bocelli’s The Prayer, asking for peace for Ukrainians, and Miss World Ukraine 2016 Oleksandra Kucherenko shared her experiences in a video message.
It is the 70th iteration of the event, which was launched in 1951 by Eric Morley, who became known as "Mr World″ after he founded the famed beauty pageant.
The competition was created in the UK and is the oldest-running international beauty pageant. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has been co-chairwoman of the event.
To enter, contestants must be unmarried and childless, between the ages of 17 and 27 and be a resident of the country they represent.
The event, which was planned for December 2021, was rescheduled for March 16 after a Covid-19 outbreak during the preliminary rounds at the pageant in Puerto Rico.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
