Nigeria’s Miss World 2026 wins continental title, secures top 40 spot, and finally top 12

Karibi-George clinched the continental title on Thursday during the Top Model competition held as part of the Vietnam Beauty Fashion Fest XVII, themed “Soul of Heritage.” Her victory automatically earned her a place in the Top 40 quarterfinals of the global pageant.

The 26-year-old beauty queen from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is among contestants from different countries competing for the coveted Miss World crown.

Karibi-George wins Africa Top Model title

The Nigerian beauty distinguished herself among contestants from across the African continent to emerge as Africa’s Top Model winner.

The Miss World Organisation subsequently announced her as the continental winner alongside representatives of the Dominican Republic, France and Vietnam, who emerged as winners for the Americas and Caribbean, Europe, and Asia and Oceania respectively.

The four continental winners earned automatic places in the Top 40 after impressing during the Top Model challenge, giving them an advantage as the competition progresses towards the final stages.

Top Model winner to advance to Top 20

According to the organisers, the overall winner of the Top Model challenge will be selected from the four continental winners. The eventual winner will receive a direct ticket to the Top 20 of the Miss World competition.

The Top 40 will comprise 10 contestants from each continent, while other contestants will qualify through various fast-track challenges organised as part of the pageant.

These challenges include People’s Choice, Beauty With a Purpose, Head-to-Head and Multimedia, giving contestants several opportunities to secure places in the later stages of the competition.

Strong performance in Head-to-Head Challenge

Karibi-George’s latest achievement comes after an impressive run in the Head-to-Head Challenge, where she progressed to the African finals.

She defeated representatives from Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Kenya and South Africa to claim the African Top Model title. South Africa’s Romanda Hombir, meanwhile, won her country’s continental round.

Her performances across the different stages have positioned her as one of the African contestants to watch as the 2026 Miss World competition moves towards its decisive stages.

From Miss World Nigeria to global stage

The 26-year-old Port Harcourt-born beauty was crowned Miss World Nigeria 2026 on June 6 at the Balmoral Hall of the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.

She represented Bayelsa State at the national competition and succeeded Joy Mojisola Raimi, who represented Nigeria at the previous Miss World edition and finished among the Top 20 contestants.

Karibi-George’s emergence as Miss World Nigeria 2026 marked the beginning of her journey to represent the country on the international stage, where she has now secured an early breakthrough.

Communications professional and advocate

Beyond pageantry, Karibi-George is a communications professional and an associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

She is also the founder of Beyond Labels, an initiative dedicated to promoting inclusion and empowering children with special needs.

Her advocacy work has added another dimension to her pageant campaign, particularly as the Miss World competition places considerable emphasis on contestants’ social impact and commitment to humanitarian causes.

Previous international pageant success

Before winning the Miss World Nigeria crown, Karibi-George had already gained international pageantry experience after being crowned Miss Africa International 2024 in Accra, Ghana.

Her previous achievement, combined with her current performance in the Miss World competition, has strengthened her credentials as she seeks to make a significant impact on the global stage.

With her Africa Top Model victory and automatic qualification for the Top 40, Karibi-George has further boosted Nigeria’s hopes of securing a strong finish at the 2026 Miss World competition.

Meanwhile, NewsX reports that at the end of the Miss World 2026 competition, Nigeria's Karibi-George has finished in top 12 while Joheirry Mola Dominguez of the Dominican Republic won the coveted crown.

Mola was crowned Miss World 2026 on Saturday at the grand finale of the 73rd edition of the pageant held at the April 2 Square in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

The victory marked the second time the Dominican Republic has produced a Miss World, 44 years after Mariasela Álvarez won the title in 1982.

Mola succeeded Thailand’s Suchata “Opal” Chuangsri, who won the 2025 edition and crowned her successor at the finale.

Spain’s Elisabeth Reynés Alabern emerged first runner-up, while Malaysia’s Taanusiya Chetty was named second runner-up.

Chetty also won the Beauty with a Purpose award for her social impact work.

Karibi-George, popularly known as Soye, progressed through several stages of the competition before her journey ended in the Top 12. She failed to advance to the final Top Six.

The Nigerian beauty queen had earlier secured an automatic place in the Top 40 after winning the Africa Top Model title at the Vietnam Beauty Fashion Fest.

She defeated contestants from Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya and South Africa to win the continental modelling title.

Karibi-George subsequently advanced to the Top 20 and Top 12, before bowing out at the latter stage.

Her Top 12 finish came alongside contestants from Brazil, France, the Philippines, Zambia and Zimbabwe, who also failed to make the final six.

The final six contestants were Mola of the Dominican Republic, Reynés of Spain, Chetty of Malaysia, Lê Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc of Vietnam, Romanda Hombir of South Africa and Snit Habteab Tewoldemedhin of Eritrea.

Mola, 24, is a literature and social studies teacher, professional model, news correspondent and community advocate.

She holds a degree in Business Management and Administration from Universidad Iberoamericana and founded Voices of Tomorrow, an initiative focused on providing English-language education to children and young people in vulnerable communities.

Her advocacy for access to education featured prominently during the competition, particularly in the final stage.

Mola had earlier won the Americas and Caribbean Top Model title, which secured her place in the Top 40.

Her victory also continued the pageant’s “Beauty with a Purpose” philosophy, which places emphasis on social impact and community advocacy alongside beauty and modelling.

For Nigeria, Karibi-George’s performance represented another strong showing at the international pageant.

The 26-year-old, who hails from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, represented Bayelsa State at the national pageant.

She was crowned Miss World Nigeria 2026 in June at the Balmoral Hall of the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, succeeding Joy Mojisola Raimi, who reached the Top 20 at the 2025 Miss World pageant.

Karibi-George is a communications professional, model, actress, voice-over artist, event host and scriptwriter.

She is also the founder of Beyond Labels, an initiative focused on inclusion, dignity, education and empowerment for children with disabilities, special needs and neurodivergent individuals.

During the Miss World competition, she participated in the Head-to-Head Challenge and Talent Competition, where she performed “Opportunity” by Sia.

She also used her appearances at the pageant to showcase Nigerian culture, with some of her outfits highlighting the Niger Delta and its environmental and cultural heritage.

One of her notable looks, the “Amazon of the Mangrove” costume, was designed to highlight environmental resilience and women’s strength. She also appeared in a green-white-green evening gown inspired by Nigeria’s national colours.

The 2026 Miss World pageant featured 111 contestants divided into four continental groups: Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Europe, and Asia and Oceania.

The contestants progressed through several stages, including fast-track challenges and the Top 40, Top 20, Top 12 and Top Six rounds before the winner and runners-up were selected.

The 2026 edition was the first time Vietnam hosted the Miss World competition and also marked the organisation’s 75th anniversary.

The pageant featured contestants from several countries making their debut, including Eritrea, French Guiana, the Maldives, Mozambique and Pakistan.

Following Mola’s crowning, the 74th edition of the Miss World pageant is scheduled to be held in Tanzania in 2027.