Luciana Fuster

 Peru wins 2nd MGI crown, PH is unplaced

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Peruvian delegate Luciana Fuster bested 68 other international delegates and emerged as the 11th Miss Grand International winner. This is the second time Peru won the golden crown after a victorious turn from Maria Jose Lora in 2017. 

The Philippine delegate, Nikki de Moura of Cagayan de Oro City, was unplaced. This is the fifth time a Filipina did not make it to the semifinal round. The other times were in 2014 (Kimberly Karlsson), 2018 (Eva Patalinghug), 2019 (Samantha Lo), and 2021 (Samantha Panlilio).

The MGI 2023 court is comprised of Ni Ni Lin Eain (1st runner-up, Myanmar), Maria Alejandra Lopez (2nd runner-up, Colombia), Stephanie Marie (3rd runner-up, USA), and Le Hoang Phuong (4th runner-up, Vietnam).

The lucky ladies who made it to the Top 10 were the delegates from Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Angola, and Netherlands; while the candidates from Puerto Rico, Nigeria, Czech Republic, Honduras, Laos, India, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, France, and Spain rounded up the placements in the semifinal round (Top 20).

Luciana now joins the ranks of Grand titleholders that include Janelee Chaparro (2013, Puerto Rico), Daryanne Lees (2014, Cuba), Claire Perkins (2015, Australia, dethroned), Ariska Putri Pertiwi (2016, Indonesia), Maria Jose Lora (2017, Peru), Clara Sosa (2018, Paraguay), Valentina Figueroa (2019, Venezuela), Abena Appiah (2020, USA), Tien Thuy Thuc Nguyen (2021, Vietnam), and Isabella Menin (2022, Brazil), who bequeathed her crown at the close of the coronation ceremonies.

Hosted by Thai television personality Matthew Deane, the 11th Miss Grand International final show was beamed live to a global audience via Grand TV's YouTube channel from host country Vietnam.

The 12th Miss Grand International will unfold on October 25, 2024 from Yangon, Myanmar. Stay tuned!