Miss Grand International 2022

 Brazil is 10th MGI anniversary winner, Philippines in Top 20

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Isabella Menin of Brazil bested 67 other hopefuls to emerge as the 10th anniversary winner of the Miss Grand International at the culmination of glitzy rites in the Sentul International Convention Center in Bogor Regency of Indonesia's west Java province. Outgoing queen Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien of Vietnam relinquished her crown to the Brazilian maiden.

Her royal court is comprised of Engfa Waraha (1st runner-up, Thailand), Andina Julie (2nd runner-up, Indonesia), Luiseth Materan (3rd runner-up, Venezuela), and Mariana Beckova (4th runner-up, Czech Republic), who was also named Miss Social Media, earlier in the evening.

The five other ladies who made it to the Top 10 were all made part of the extended court and were all crowned as 5th runners-up. They were Pich Votey Saravody (Cambodia), Priscila Londono (Colombia), Jirisley Jiminez (Spain), Oxana Rivera (Puerto Rico), and Yuvna Gookool (Mauritius), who was fast-tracked to the Top 10 as Miss Popular Vote, the winner of the online poll.

All ten queens will tour with MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil until the end of the year, and Miss Brazil, as MGI 2022 queen, will be based in Bangkok while working with the organization.

The other lucky entrants who made it to the Top 20 were Vietnam (Country Power of the Year and Best in National Costume), Honduras, Nigeria, Denmark, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Mexico (Best in Evening Gown), Paraguay, Peru, Curacao, and the Philippines.

This year, there were four winners of the Best National Costume. Two winners were determined by an online poll while the other two were selected by a panel of judges. So Misses United Kingdom and Peru, shared the award with Misses Thailand and Vietnam.

Moreover, the national director of Vietnam was honored with the Golden Grand award, while the national directors of Spain and Japan received the Silver Grand citation. Indonesian national director Ivan Gunawan was likewise honored with a special citation.

This year's selection committee included Dessy Ruhati, Alarik Saltzman, Luna Maya, Syarifah Rahman, Miss Grand International 2013 Janelle Chaparro, Miss Grand International 2014 Lees Garcia, and Miss Grand International 2016 Ariska Putri Pertiwi.

The other Miss Grand International queens also graced the final show - with the exception of Claire Elizabeth Parker of Australia who was dethroned as 2015 winner - Maria Jose Lora (2017), Clara Sosa (2018), Valentina Figuera (2019), and Abina Appiah Akuaba (2020).

Hosted by Matthew Deane, the 2022 Miss Grand International pageant was live-streamed to a global audience through the Grand TV channel on YouTube; enjoying a whooping 1.3-million viewership at the close of the broadcast.

Next year, the 11th edition of the Miss Grand International will unfold in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on October 25, 2023.