TRANSCRIPT: Miss World 2026 Top 12 Q&A

A Miss World crown takes more than beauty and elegance—it also calls for confidence, quick thinking, and the ability to articulate one's thoughts under pressure.

During the 73rd Miss World finals on Sept. 5, the Top 12 took center stage for the competition's much-awaited question-and-answer round in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam.

The candidates were challenged to answer questions on advocacy, cultural identity, leadership, social impact, and their plans for using the Miss World platform to create meaningful change.

Read on to see how the finalists answered their respective questions.

Brunette Makanyiso of Zimbabwe

You will become an ambassador for this incredible organization and an inspiration for thousands of people across the world. So what advice would you give to someone who is wanting to start their own Beauty with a Purpose project?

The advice that I would give to someone who wants to start a project is start however small you have. I started with nothing and I took a step forward to achieve my dreams. And I'm here standing on the stage. It takes a little amount of work to create change as much as we can. So take that step and go forward and your projects can make it. 

Taanusiya Chetty of Malaysia

You will become an ambassador for this incredible organization and an inspiration for thousands of people across the world. So what advice would you give to someone who is wanting to start their own Beauty with a Purpose project?

I want you to imagine what would the world be if many underestimate the process of metamorphosis, just like how before it blooms into a beautiful butterfly from a caterpillar. That's the same exact spirit I carry as a teacher. But before that, I was a student who wants to achieve and expand to my Beauty with a Purpose project. I carry that same spirit to make sure that no matter where the child is from or what education background, when you have the spirit of to take care of one thing and the caterpillar, that is theexact what a Miss World should be

Soye Karibi-George of Nigeria 

You're here because people around the world voted for you. They chose you before any judge did. What do you think they saw in you? And what do you want to say to them tonight?

I believe these votes are an encouragement to people who believe that I am
an authentic young woman who is resilient and determined to follow a dream, but not just follow that dream. Follow it with purpose, follow it with power, follow it with strength and love for the people around me and preaching that we should look beyond labels. And I'd like to say to each and every one of my supporters, Nigerians, both home and abroad, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to stand at the world stage. And I'm so proud to represent you.

Snit Habteab Tewoldemedhin of Eritrea

You're here because people around the world voted for you. They chose you before any judge did. What do you think they saw in you? And what do you want to say to them tonight?

I believe that these votes are not just numbers. There are love letters, according to my country, a love letter on behalf of those that see themselves in me as a caregiver for a child with Down syndrome. There are love letters that come from a young nation of very few people, but see themselves and represented in this grand stage. And these are love letters that are encouraging me and supporting me to this day. And I would like to say to them, thank you. Thank you so much for trusting me, for believing in me. And I would like to appreciate them for giving me this opportunity to represent them.

Joheirry Mola Dominguez of Dominican Republic

What qualities do you possess that are key to being Miss World Americas and Caribbean?

As a woman, I want to bring to the table a woman who has broke barriers, that knows that physical beauty, it's not all that, that her purpose is bigger than herself. And as a teacher, I am. Make life delicious. A purpose serving, and I want to see it in the table, but I want to prepare seats where they could be prepared for life. 

Gabriela Botelho of Brazil

What qualities do you possess that are key to being Miss World Americas and Caribbean?

For the past seven years, I have been working in communities who have been suffering some kind of urgency, such as a national catastrophe or rare disease. It's a place where few people want to be. But when I got there, they gave me the best present. They taught me to see beyond what the eyes can see and to listen with the heart. The qualities I believe is essential to have the responsibility to step in a stage like this. Once, Princess Diana said that she wanted to be the queen of people's heart. And that's exactly the woman I wake up every day wanting to be. I don't know if I will win the crown tonight, but I hope I have touched your hearts and I promise I will lead with mine. 

Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc of Vietnam

You're representing the most populated and most varied region in this competition. What is 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?

There's something that I want the world to know about Asia and Oceania, especially Vietnam, is that we are ready for the worst stage. My dream is to become the first Vietnamese woman to carry the 75-year legacy of this world and turning it into a century of beauty with a purpose. Growing up, I have witnessed my generation inheriting unfair intergenerational debt from climate injustice to a global absence of peace. The result, the consequences are heartbreaking. Farmers losing their land, people losing the place that they call home, it hits deeply inside my heart. And that is why I've decided to take my next step as a Master of Environmental Science and Policy in Columbia University. My dream, my future plan for Miss World Platform and for my project Gen Zero is to use it to maximize it, not only as a communicator, but also as a future policymaker that I'm becoming and with the heart and the hope of a humanitarian that I know I am today. So that is the essence of a Vietnamese woman that I want to represent this year for Miss World.

Asia Rose Simpson of Philippines

You're representing the most populated and most varied region in this competition. What is 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?

We speak about diversity. And I am half Filipino, 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 any family unit is unity. 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. 

Dr Adah Mushibi of Zambia 

What have you learned in your country that would be beneficial as an ambassador of Africa to the whole world?

Even just getting this far is incredibly amazing. And I'm truly grateful. The qualities that I would share as a continental queen of Africa is service. Because as a queen, I believe one of the most important roles is to serve. My country people, Zambians, serve everyone. They are warm. They are loving. And they are kind. And that is what I believe a continental winner should be. And with that kindness, I will be able to come through and support children living with disabilities through the project that I have been running for over five years. As a true Zambian, that is the true purpose. And that is an act of service that my people carry.

Romanda Hombir of South Africa 

What have you learned in your country that would be beneficial as an ambassador of Africa to the whole world?

I'm so honored to stand here because I represent something from my country that is restoration. But I see that exact same quality in Vietnam every single day. A restoration of hope, of dignity, of care, of kindness. And that is the exact same level of dedicated service I plan to bring should I be honored to be crowned as Miss World Africa. Simply put, there is absolutely no community that should ever go without the ability to see hope restored. And that is done in the small things, from greeting each other with love, to showing each other respect every single day, and showing communities that change is possible when we care and respect each other enough to restore the dignity we all deserve. 

Elisabeth Reynés Alabern of Spain

Beyond that legacy, what do you personally bring that no one else in your continent could bring? And what would you do with the platform during your reign? 

I believe being the loudest is not the important. It's that your words go to the heart of the people. I believe that if you use your platform in a good way, it can reach more people. So if I would become the next Miss World Europe, I would use my platform to raise awareness, to speak about important things, the children, the future, our society. So I have the chance to speak up. I will start for them because they are the future. And I once was a kid that was afraid, that didn't have access, that didn't have tools. And I believe we need to change that for the better so our society becomes a better one. 

Indira Ampiot of France

Beyond that legacy, what do you personally bring that no one else in your continent could bring? And what would you do with the platform during your reign? 

For me, Europe is not only a continent. For me, Europe is about diversity, about strength, about language, about country. It's about us. I think that with Europe, I can represent a lot of things because I was born in a Caribbean, French Caribbean archipelago. And I think that representing France showed me that I can... for me, representing France and representing Europe, it's about diversity. So I think that I can change that. I can learn a lot of things also. With the platform of Miss World, I can represent a lot of things. I can talk. I can be a voice. For me, an ambassador is not someone who just represents a continent. It makes people feel that they are represented. I'm sorry for my English. I try every time. For me, with Miss World, it was a little bit complicated, but I learned, and I want to learn. And I think that with Miss World, I can learn a lot. I think that, and I believe in that, that the platform of Miss World can offer a lot of things like for my beauty with a purpose. For my beauty with a purpose, I wanted to represent all the women with breast cancer. Because of my grandmother, she fought against breast cancer when I was 10 years old. During 10 years old. And I want to represent all the women who are fighting every time, who are fighting everywhere. I want to represent that. I can represent space, open space for this woman.

A total of 111 candidates competed for the 73rd Miss World title, which eventually went to the Dominican Republic's Joheirry Mola Dominguez. Spain's Elisabeth Reynés Alabern won 1st runner-up, while Malaysia's Taanusiya Chetty won 2nd runner-up. Philippines' Asia Rose Simpson finished in the Top 12 of the competition. 

Check out the highlights of the pageant here.