Dominican Republic’s Joheirry Mola Dominguez has won the Miss World 2026 title, securing her country’s second crown 44 years after Mariasela Álvarez’s victory in 1982.
Mola was named winner on Saturday, 5 September, at the grand finale in Nha Trang, Vietnam, beating 110 other contestants in the pageant’s 75th anniversary edition. She succeeds Thailand’s Opal Suchata Chuangsri, Miss World 2025. Spain’s Elisabeth Reynés Alabern finished as first runner-up, with Malaysia’s Taanusiya Chetty named second runner-up.
The new titleholder’s win was closely linked to her social impact work. During the question-and-answer round, Mola spoke about her ‘Beauty With A Purpose’ project, which provides English-language lessons for children in vulnerable communities.
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When asked how she would develop the initiative as Miss World, Mola said she wanted to give children access to English as a tool to unlock opportunities and help them express themselves.
Her advocacy draws on her background as a Literature and Social Studies teacher and as founder of ‘Voices of Tomorrow’, an initiative focused on expanding English education for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Joining Mola in the final six were Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc of Vietnam, Snit Habteab Tewoldemedhin of Eritrea and Romanda Hombir of South Africa.
This year marked the first time Vietnam hosted Miss World. A total of 111 contestants took part in the anniversary competition, which was reduced in stages from the Top 40 to the Top 20, then the Top 12, and finally six finalists.
Nigeria’s representative, Tamunosoye Karibi-George, also performed strongly, reaching the Top 12.
Popularly known as Soye, Karibi-George entered the finals with strong momentum after winning the Africa Top Model title, which secured her automatic qualification into the Top 40. She also gained significant support from Nigerian voters during the People’s Choice stage.
Her progression to the Top 12 represented another notable achievement for Nigeria on the global stage. Under the 2026 format, the Top 20 was cut to 12 through a mix of continental winners, ‘Beauty With A Purpose’ and public voting.
Karibi-George represented Nigeria with her ‘Beyond Labels‘ advocacy platform, which campaigns for inclusion and opportunities for children with disabilities and special needs. Her showing throughout the competition positioned her among Africa’s leading contestants ahead of the finale.
NTA
