What to expect at the Miss World 2026 finale in Vietnam on Sept. 5

The Miss World pageant is celebrating its 75th edition this year with its 73rd edition happening in Vietnam, and culminating at the coronation show in Nha Trang on Saturday evening, Sept. 5.

The final competition will be held at April 2 Square, an open seafront space at the Vietnamese resort destination, at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. in Manila). The ceremonies will be streamed in real time on the Miss World YouTube channel.

A total of 111 delegates from different countries and territories around the world are competing this year to inherit the title from reigning queen Opal Suchata, the first Thai woman to win the crown.

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The first round of elimination will see the Top 40 quarterfinalists, 10 each from the continental groups of Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Asia and Oceania, and Europe.

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Several delegates have already secured their Top 40 placements by topping fast-track challenges for their respective continental groups, and some of the challenge winners will be revealed on the finale show.

These fast-track challenges are “Head-to-Head,” Top Model, Multimedia, People’s Choice, and “Beauty with a Purpose.” The remaining slots in the continental Top 10 will be filled up by the judges’ choices.

The next cut will trim the roster to just 20 qualifiers, with guaranteed placements for the Top 2 for Beauty with a Purpose and the overall winners of Multimedia, Head-to-head, and Top Model. The judges will choose who will fill up the remaining 15 slots, making sure that the four continental groups will each have five delegates.

Twelve delegates will move to the next round, and they are the Top 2 for Beauty with a Purpose, the Top 2 for People’s Choice, and two each from Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Asia and Oceania, and Europe.

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The final round will see the Top 6 delegates, composed of the top performers from Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Asia and Oceania, and Europe, the Beauty with a Purpose winner, and the People’s Choice winner. From the six finalists, only two runners-up will be chosen, while the top performer will be crowned as Miss World 2026. 

Teen queen Asia Rose Simpson is representing the Philippines in this year’s competition. She had already secured her spot in the Top 40 by topping the Head-to-Head challenge for Asia and Oceania.

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Simpson also finished third in the Talent competition, and scored placements in the Sports and Top Model challenges. Her Beauty with a Purpose project was also shortlisted in her continental group.

She is hoping to become the second Filipino woman to win the “blue crown,” 13 years since Megan Young posted the Philippines’ first-ever victory at the 2013 Miss World pageant held in Indonesia. /ra