Miss Thailand Opal Suchata Chuangsri was crowned Miss World 2025 at the 72nd edition of the Miss World pageant at the Grand Finale held at the Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad on Saturday night.
Chuangsri was crowned by Miss World 2024 Krystyna Pyszková, in the presence of Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy and state tourism minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy at a glittering ceremony.
While Ethiopia’s Hasset Dereje emerged first runner-up, Maja Klajda from Poland won the second runner-up title. Martinique’s Aurlie Joachim made it to the top four.
The judging panel for the 72nd Miss World pageant included actor Sonu Sood, who also received the Miss World Humanitarian Award. The jury was headed by Julia Morley CBE, Chairwoman of Miss World.
Sudha Reddy, the 2025 Global Ambassador for Beauty With a Purpose, also served as a judge. Dr Caryna Turrell, Miss England 2014 and a public health physician from the University of Cambridge, was also on the panel.
Former Miss World Manushi Chhillar, actors Rana Daggubati and Namrata Shirodkar were also present at the event. Popular Tollywood actor Chiranjeevi and other celebrities too attended the Miss World 2025 finale event.
According to an official statement, the final round of the contest was marked by a round of questions by the panel of judges. Actor Sonu Sood asked Miss Thailand Opal Suchata Chuangsri what the journey taught her about storytelling and personal responsibility.
“I’ve learned we must become people our loved ones look up to,” she said. “No matter how far we go, our actions should always speak louder.”
This is the second consecutive year that India turned host for the Miss World pageant. The 71st edition of the pageant was held in Mumbai, where Krystyna Pyszkova of the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World.
This year, 108 contestants from around the world participated in the coveted beauty pageant. India was represented by model Nandini Gupta. She made it to the top 20 in the run for the Miss World 2025 title.
The 72nd Miss World finale was hosted by Stephanie del Valle (Miss World 2016), who was dressed in a traditional Indian lehenga for the event, alongside Sachiin Kumbhar. The grand event also witnessed performances by Jacqueline Fernandez and Ishaan Khatter.
The top contestants had advanced through a series of fast-track events such as the Head-to-Head Challenge, Top Model, Beauty with a Purpose, Talent, Sports, and Multimedia, before being narrowed down to 40 quarterfinalists, then a Top 10 in each continental group, followed by the Top 5, Top 2, and finally, one crowned winner.
Each continental group produced a winner after a rapid-fire 45-second round where they were asked why they deserved the crown. The continental queens were Miss Martinique (Americas and Caribbean), Miss Ethiopia (Africa), Miss Poland (Europe), and Miss Thailand (Asia and Oceania).
Earlier in the evening, the top 10 contestants were selected from each region. For Asia and Oceania, this included India, Indonesia, Thailand and others. From Africa, finalists hailed from nations, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Namibia. Europe saw strong contenders from Ireland, Italy and Poland, while the Americas and Caribbean featured candidates from Argentina, Martinique and the United States, among others.
The winner of the prestigious “Beauty with a Purpose” round was Miss Indonesia Monica Kezia Sembiring, who impressed with her project “Pipeline for Lifeline,” aimed at improving access to clean water and sanitation in underserved communities.