For the first time the history of the beauty pageant, a representative from Vietnam was crowned the top honor.
On Saturday, November 3, during the final ceremony of Miss Earth 2018 in Manila, the most coveted title was bestowed to Vietnamese contestant Nguyen Phuong Khanh, who was among the top 18. As Tuoi Tre reports, Khanh rose above her 86 competitors from all over the world to take home the title, a first for Vietnam.
Born in 1994, Khanh grew up in Ben Tre Province and came second during the Miss Ocean Vietnam Global this April. Many netizens attributed her achievement to her decent interview answer and command of English during the Q&A round of Miss Earth.
When asked what she thought was the “greatest pressure” on her generation, Khanh answered “our ignorance.” She added: “We have so many technology. We just use social media and we just care about ourselves. We should spend our time to think and feel what’s happening with the Earth right now. [sic]”
The second and third positions went to representatives from Austria and Colombia, respectively. Miss Earth is an environment-themed beauty pageant started by Filipino media company Carousel Productions in 2001. Historically, the Philippines holds the most Miss Earth titles with four wins while South American nations are also well-presented on the hall of fame.
Khanh’s Miss Earth title is also the best Vietnam has ever performed in a completion from the “Big Four” — a nickname for four of the most prestigious beauty pageants in the world, including Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Earth and Miss World.
[Photo via Zing]
