She’s the first Albanian to win the Miss Earth crown.

Albanian model and TV host Drita Ziri bested 84 other delegates for the Miss Earth crown on Friday night, December 22, at the Vạn Phúc City in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Yllana Marie Aduana of the Philippines, Do Thi Lan Anh of Vietnam and Cora Bliault of Thailand were crowned Miss Earth Air, Miss Earth Water, and Miss Earth Fire, respectively.

Ziri was asked: “An official at the recent climate conference was quoted as saying there is no science behind the phaseout of fossil fuels. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?” Ziri answered: “I do believe that a lot that’s happening to our Earth right now regarding also this problem is because of people is because of unawareness is because of not thinking that they do really have the impact to do the undoing, to actually make progress in this world.”

The Albanian beauty queen succeeds the previous titleholder Mina Sue Choi of South Korea.

The event was streamed live on the official Facebook and YouTube pages of Miss Earth, TNA Entertainment, and Miss Earth Vietnam

Present were the major sponsors, Miss Earth Vietnam queens, national director Truong Ngoc Anh, Carousel Productions (Miss Earth) Executive Vice-President Lorraine Schuck, and the reigning Miss Earth Mina Sue Choi with her court Sheridan Mortlock and Andrea Aguiera.

The queens looked stunning in their traditional Vietnamese dresses (ao dai) as they graced the occasion and shared their wonderful experiences of Vietnamese hospitality and culture.

An official contract signing between Carousel Productions, Inc., TNA Entertainment, and Long Beach Pearl also took place following the announcement of the new crowns for the next Miss Earth and elemental queens.

The newly crowned Miss Earth Vietnam 2023 Do Thi Lan Anh then received her official send-off as she will soon participate in Miss Earth 2023. She will serve as host contestant for over 100 beauties expected to compete in her country this coming December.

Here is the important schedule of events for Miss Earth 2023:

December 2 – National Costume Competition at Nguyen Hye Walking Street

December 4 – Best Eco Project “Environment and Sustainable Development Project” at Gem Center

December 9 – Miss Earth 2023 x Fashion Voyage, Evening Gown and Swimsuit Competition at Van Phuc City

December 14 – Fashionature, Eco-Tourism and Fashion Shoot at Ben Tre, Vung Tau Nam Cat Tien, and Can Gio

December 16 – Talent Competition at Saigon Opera House

December 22 – Grand Final and Coronation at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City

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The 25-year-old professional stylist and makeup artist based in Louisville received her crown and sash from her predecessor Brielle Simmons of Connecticut.

Maryland’s Shawna Melvin was named Miss Earth USA Air while the representatives of Florida, Natalia Aldarondo, Nebraska, Angel Strong, and Tennessee, Gracie Pfaff were announced Miss Earth USA Water, Fire, and Eco, respectively.

Rounding out the Top 12 were Arkansas, District of Columbia, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Washington while the rest of the Top 20 were California, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio and Virginia.

The new Miss Earth USA is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in public relations. She will now prepare to represent the USA at the Miss Earth 2023 pageant which is expected to be held in Vietnam later this year.

Danielle believes that beauty for a cause is more than just a pretty face but a face for positive change. As Miss Earth USA, she wants to be an example for others and inspire them to do the same.

“I love to inspire women to love their self(ie) and use stories from my own personal struggles and overcoming to empower people. One of my goals in life is to help change the way women see themselves,” she said.

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Miss Earth 2021 Destiny Wagner, right, passes the crown to Miss South Korea Mina Sue Choi after being crowned as Miss Earth 2022 during the 22nd Miss Earth pageant in Manila, in the Philippines.

Mina Sue Choi of Korea bested over 80 other competitors to win Miss Earth 2022 in a glittering competition held on Tuesday, November 29 at Cove Manila, Okada Manila in the Philippines.

The 24-year-old communication student succeeded Destiny Wagner of Belize and became her country’s first-ever Miss Earth winner. She also bagged three gold medals for the swimsuit, beach wear, and long gown competition, and one bronze for resort wear.

Australia’s Sheridan Mortlock, Palestine’s Nadeen Ayoub, and Colombia’s Andrea Aguilera finished in the Top 4 and were awarded the elemental titles Miss Earth – Air, Water, and Fire, respectively.

The Top 8 were Daphné Nivelles of Belgium, Merel Hendriksen of the Netherlands, Paulina Avilés of Puerto Rico, and Sakhile Dube of Zimbabwe while Jéssica Pedroso of Brazil, Sheyla Ravelo of Cuba, Esther Ajayi of Nigeria and Maria Rosado of Portugal were the rest of the Top 12.

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Rounding out the Top 20 were Anežka Heralecká of the Czech Republic, Hiwot Kassa of Ethiopia, Alannah Larkin of Ireland, Diana Andimba of Namibia, Lilly Sødal of Norway, Jenny Ramp of the Philippines, Lea Prstec of Slovenia, and Thach Thu Thao of Vietnam.

This year’s competition themed “ME Loves Fauna” marked the 22nd edition of the Miss Earth pageant and was held following two virtual editions in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show was hosted by TV host and automotive journalist James Deakin with former Miss Earth winners Angelia Ong, Karen Ibasco, and Nellys Pimentel as co-hosts.

Born in Sydney, Australia, the new Miss Earth also spent her childhood living in Canada, the United States, China, and Korea. “This pattern of residing in unfamiliar places, adapting, then finding yet another new place has impacted me as a person today and most likely will impact the future versions of myself as a global woman of this era,” she said in her bio for Miss Earth.

The advocate of carbon footprint reduction and eco-friendly lifestyles is proud of her roots and she described Koreans as challengers and hard workers. She said: “We always challenge ourselves, sometimes critique ourselves, but to always better ourselves. I love that the people of our country are proud to be Korean wherever we are. I am thrilled to live in the moments where everyone will recognize our people, our culture, and our country, Korea.”