Miss Grand International 2020 was the eighth Miss Grand International pageant, held at the DC Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, on 27 March 2021. Valentina Figuera of Venezuela crowned Abena Appiah of the United States as her successor at the end of the event. It was the first time that a black woman had won this pageant.
Background Location and date On 25 October 2019, during the final telecast of the 8th edition of the Miss Grand International pageant in Caracas, Venezuela, the host of the event announced that the 9th edition of the contest would be held in Venezuela again on the same date next year. Later, on 17 March 2021, Nawat Itsaragrisil, the president of the organization, still insists on the original schedule, although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. However, the venue might be going to change if the pandemic was further exacerbated. After the surge of COVID-19 infection from mid-2020 to early 2021 worldwide, including in Venezuela; therefore, the organization decided to postpone the pageant to 2021 and move the venue to Bangkok, Thailand instead. The official statement was released via their social media platforms on January 14, 2021, citing the grand final of the event will be held on 27 March 2021.
Originally, the organization was recommended by the Phuket Communicable Diseases Committee (CDC) to arrange the preliminary activities in Phuket, then shift to Bangkok for the main events afterward. However, the travel restrictions between the region in Thailand during the pandemic causes such an option were inconvenient for the management; after the internal investigation, the organization finally determined in favor of Bangkok to hold all the events.
The Press Conference for the pageant was taken place on 15 February 2021, in Bangkok at Show DC Hall, which was the venue for the preliminary and the final rounds. In the event, the president asserted that all candidates must arrive in Bangkok before 1 March 2021, and will be then quarantined for 14 days in the official hotel of the pageant. The aforementioned regulatory was additionally implemented for whoever wishes to attend the events, intending to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Thailand Coronavirus Disease 2019 Management Center (CDMC), the number of allowed attendance in each pageant indoor activity must not be more than 30 percent of the venue capacity.
The pageant was supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, aiming to promote the tourism industries in Bangkok under pandemic conditions. The pageant was officially commenced on 15 March after the 14-day-quarantined period, and consisted of four main events namely the national costume parade, the preliminary competition, and the grand final round, which was held on 24, 25, and 27 March, respectively.
Selection of participants Of all sixty-three participating candidates, only eleven were determined through the Miss Grand national pageants, including the representatives of Albania, Brazil, Cambodia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, South Korea, and Thailand, while another candidates who was also elected through the Miss Grand national contest, Pamela Clement of Ghana, did not enter the international tournament for undisclosed reasons. Some countries send their other pageant's main winners to participate, namely Gabriella Jara Cordero of Costa Rica from the Finalists 2020 contest, Denisa Spergerová from Miss Czech Republic, Arlinda Prenaj from Miss From Germany, Chikaodili Nna-Udosen from The Nigerian Queen, and Ayda Mirahmadi from Miss Iran. The remaining candidates were either appointed or won Miss Grand as the supplemental title at other national pageants, such as Sara Winter of Canada who obtained the title after participating in the Miss World Canada 2020 pageant.
The original representatives from Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, and Peru were replaced by their runners-up or other appointed delegates due to the resignation or dethronement.
Initially, sixty-seven candidates confirmed their participation, but four of them did not enter the pageant for undisclosed reasons, including Pamela Clement of Ghana, Amber Walsh of Northern Ireland, Pearl Lazaro of Cook Islands, and Kimberly Mayoyo of Zimbabwe.
Abena Appiah of the United States won the contest, and was crowned by Valentina Figuera of Venezuela. It was the first time that a black woman had won this pageant.
Results Placements Placement Contestant Miss Grand International 2020 – Abena Appiah 1st Runner-Up – Samantha Bernardo 2nd Runner-Up – Ivana Batchelor 3rd Runner-Up – Aurra Kharisma 4th Runner-Up – Lala Guedes Top 10 – Mariana Varela – Denisa Spergerová – Jasebel Robert § – Fabiola Valentín – Patcharaporn Chantarapadit Top 20 – Chily Tevy ‡ – Lady León – Luciana Martínez – Stephanie Wyatt – Ruri Saji – Irene Ng'endo – Angela Yuriar – Han Lay – Angie Keith – Maricielo Gamarra – Nguyễn Lê Ngọc Thảo § – Voted into the Top 10 by viewers and awarded as Miss Popular Vote ‡ – Voted into the Top 20 by viewers and awarded as Country's Power of the Year
Final Scores Country/TerritorySwimsuitEvening Gown 9.73 (2) 9.75 (1) 9.62 (5) 9.68 (3) 9.59 (6) 9.72 (2) 9.65 (4) 9.65 (4) 9.77 (1) 9.55 (5) 9.45 (8) 9.48 (6) 8.95 (9) 9.45 (7) - 9.39 (8) 9.55 (7) 9.35 (9) 9.70 (3) 9.15 (10) 8.92 (10) 8.90 (11) 8.90 (11) 8.89 (13) 8.85 (14) 8.85 (14) 8.75 (16) 8.55 (17) 8.43 (18) 7.55 (19) 7.50 (20)Color keys Special awards Award ContestantBest Evening Gown – Angela Yuriar Best in Swimsuit – Lala Guedes Best National Costumes – Ivana Batchelor – Ruri Saji – Patcharaporn Chantarapadit Country's Power of the Year – Chily Tevy Miss Popular Vote – Jasebel Robert
Pageant In-room activities and ancillary events
After arriving in Thailand, each candidate has separately started a 14-day quarantine period at the hotel serving as an alternative quarantine facility in Bangkok, aiming to be the precautionary measure amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. All contestants took swab tests three times during the state quarantine; on the arrival day, day 5, and day 13. In addition, self-body temperature measurement was required twice a day. Online activities were also taken place during that period; including taking an online Thai-cooking class course with the ingredients provided by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai food challenging, recording a self-induction video, as well as a live streaming chat via the official Facebook page of the pageant. Following the quarantine completed, the representatives of Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, as well as the Philippines, having a special meeting with the president of the contest on 16 March, as the honor for being on the leaderboard of the in-room online challenge.
Unfortunately, during the state quarantine with a routine COVID-19 swab test, two contestants had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 4, namely Miss Nigeria and Kenya, who were subsequently admitted to in Bangkok for further treatment; nevertheless, the organizer has not stripped their right in the contest, while the remaining contestants all tested negative. The infected candidates were treated until testing negative on 18 March and were consequently permitted to engage in the rest activities of the contest. After the completion of the 14-day mandatory quarantine, the preliminary activities were officially inaugurated with a welcoming ceremony which took place on 16 March at the Tourism Authority of Thailand head office. The candidates also visit the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on 18 March.
On 21 March, the closed-door interview was performed in the official hotel, which all the candidates went through in batches of four, with the president, Vice-president Teresa Chaivisut, and reigning Miss Grand International Valentina Figuera as jurors. The score of this interview round, together with the swimsuit competition as well as the preliminary night ratings, will determine the Top 20 finalists in the grand final telecast on 27 March.
Swimsuit competition The swimsuits competition was organized on 20 March 2021, at Lebua Hotels and Resorts at State Tower Hotel, Bangkok. After the show was completed, ten contestants were selected by public vote on the Facebook page while the other ten were chosen by the contest organizers, then narrowed down to top 10; five by voting and the rest by the panel of judges. The score for this event, together with the swimsuit round on the preliminary stage, determined the “Best in Swimsuit” recipient, which was later announced on the final telecast stage. Alaise Guedes of Brazil won the championship with the highest score of 9.77. Other finalist countries were listed below. Placement ContestantWinner – Lala GuedesTop 10Public Vote – Chily Tevy – Aurra Kharisma – Angela Yuriar – Daisy Lezcano – Samantha Bernardo Judge's Choice – Mariana Varela – Denisa Spergerová – Lady León – Irene Ng'endoTop 20Public Vote – Natalia Manrique – Sonia Luna Menendez – Ivana Batchelor – Han Lay – Nguyễn Lê Ngọc ThảoJudge's Choice – Luciana Martínez – Maricielo Gamarra – Fabiola Valentín – Patcharaporn Chantarapadit – Abena Appiah
National Costume Parade The national costume show was done on 24 March 2021, hosted by Arthit Mekakard, Mister National Thailand 2016, and was beamed live to a virtual audience via the official YouTube channel, named GrandTV, and its Facebook Live coverage from the Show DC Hall in Bangkok. The event had no bearing on the preliminary scores. After the show, the 10 finalist costumes were classified; five by public vote and the other five by the organization. The result was announced during the final telecast on 27 March, Filipino-made Miss Japan costume, alongside the costumes of Miss Thailand and Guatemala, won the Best National Costume awards. Other finalist countries were listed below. Placement ContestantWinners – Ivana Batchelor – Ruri Saji – Patcharaporn ChantarapaditTop 10Public Vote – Chily Tevy – Sonia Luna Menendez – Aurra Kharisma – Samantha Bernardo Judge's Choice – Jasebel Robert – Angie Keith – Nguyễn Lê Ngọc Thảo
Preliminary Competition The preliminary round of the Miss Grand International 2020 pageant was held on March 25, 2021, at Show DC Hall, Bangkok, hosted by Arthit Mekakard. The event was beamed live stream via the official Facebook page and YouTube channel of the organizer. All 63 contestants competed in swimwear and evening gowns in front of a panel of preliminary judges. The scores from the night's event, together with a closed-door interview portion and the swimsuit competition on March 20, determine the Top 20 during the grand final telecast on 27 March. Preliminary Selection Committee Nawat Itsaragrisil – President of Miss Grand International Organization Teresa Chaivisut – Vice president of Miss Grand International Organization Valentina Figuera – Miss Grand International 2019 from Venezuela Paul Vorapongse Dibbayawan – Chief operation officer and CEO representative of Show DC Komnate Nateprapai – Executive vice president TQM insurance broker Co., Ltd. Pichaya Pornchokborvorn – CEO representative of Nature care Co., Ltd.
Grand Final Competition The program was scheduled to run from 7:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. on 27 March 2021, at Show DC Hall, Bangkok. Hosted by a Thai actor and TV host, Matthew Paul Deane, and broadcast coverage of the competition worldwide via the official social media platforms of the contest namely the GrandTV YouTube channel, and also the Miss Grand International's Facebook page. Abena Appiah of the United States was announced as the winner at the end of the event.