MANILA, Philippines – Albania’s Drita Ziri was crowned Miss Earth 2023 on Friday night, December 22, at the Vạn Phúc City in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

She succeeded South Korea’s Mina Sue Choi, who holds the Miss Earth 2022 title.

Miss Earth is an annual international competition held to celebrate “the many beautiful and varied forms of fauna, and to further promote the preservation and conservation of our planet.”

Ziri bested 84 other contestants who vied for the title of Miss Earth – one of the four major international pageants in the world along with Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. This made her the 22nd beauty queen to clinch the highly coveted Miss Earth crown.

The new Miss Earth also made history as the first Albanian woman to win the Miss Earth crown and to win in any major international pageant. She was also the second Miss Earth titleholder crowned during a physical pageant since the competitions were held online in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

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As the new ambassadress of the Miss Earth based in the Philippines, she will represent the organization, which has the distinct advocacy for environmental protection. The new Miss Earth is also expected to use her platform to raise awareness and influence others to help save the planet.

Ziri also became the first Miss Earth titleholder to wear the new crown designed by Long Beach Pearl, a Vietnamese jewelry company. Long Beach Pearl is also the creator of the sakura-themed crown of Miss International.

Her elemental court includes Philippines’ Yllana Aduana as Miss Earth Air, Vietnam’s Đỗ Thị Lan Anh as Miss Earth Water, and Thailand’s Cora Bliaut as Miss Earth Fire.

This year, Miss Earth also introduced a new format. For the first time, the top 8 finalists who fell short in entering the top 4 were announced as runner-ups, with equal placements. 

The runner-ups are:

• Brazil
• Kazakhstan
• Netherlands
• Russia

Next year’s edition of Miss Earth will be held once again in Vietnam. – Rappler.com