Maryland: Puerto Rico girl Stephanie Del Valle was crowned the Miss World 2016. She surpassed contestants from Dominican Republic and Indonesia to win the coveted title after being short-listed as one of the top 3 finalists at the gala event held at MGM National Harbor on Sunday.
The 19-year-old girl, who went on to become the second Puerto Rican to hold the title after Wilnelia Merced in 1975, was crowned by Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna Royo.
Congratulations to our new #MissWorld2016! #MissWorldOnZCafe pic.twitter.com/VCQ17MKun1
— Zee Cafe (@ZeeCafe) 18 December 2016
Stephanie pipped the other top four finalists from Kenya, Indonesia, Dominican Republic and Philippines to win the title.
This was the 66th edition of the gala, which put the contestants through a series of challenges and interviews to determine who will win the coveted title of Miss World 2016 and become the ambassador of the motto `Beauty with a purpose`.
The Miss World pageant, created in Britain by Eric Morley in 1951, is the oldest surviving major international beauty contest. It is one of the three most publicised beauty contests in the world, alongside the Miss Universe and Miss Earth contests.
Indian contestant Priyadarshini Chatterjee could only make it to the top twenty after featuring in the the top five contestants for the Beauty With a Purpose title. But she eventually lost the title to Miss Indonesia.
The event was aired live on Zee Cafe.
(With IANS inputs)
