Mireia Lalaguna Royo from Spain was hailed on Saturday as the grand winner of Miss World 2015. The competition was held in Sanya, an island resort found in the southern part of China. Out of 114 women, Russia's Sofia Nikitchuk was crowned as the first runner-up and Maria Harfanti of Indonesia was second runner-up.
This was Spain's first win in the competition.
Miss World 2015 crowning moment #MW2015 #MissWorld #MissWorldTime #MissWorld2015 #Spain pic.twitter.com/b4h0wrKa10
— Miss World 2015 (@MissWorldTime) December 19, 2015
"I think this is a good decision, because Miss World is not looking for our body, they are looking for a soul," Lalaguna said, according to the Associated Press. "I think it's important that they don't want to see only our bodies, they are looking for moral things."
Twenty-three-year-old Lalaguna from Barcelona has a degree in pharmacology, does modelling, and plans to earn a master's degree in nutrition. She gained the top spot during Miss World's top model contest. She was able to have an impact on the judges with the way she spoke in public.
Miss Canada, on the other hand, was not allowed to join the competition. Anastasia Lin, who is Chinese-born, has not been issued a visa by the country, which made her unable to travel from Hong Kong to the island of Sanya.
Lin has been very vocal against the Chinese religious policy. She follows the Falun Gong meditation practice, which has been banned in China since 1999. She also said that after she won her Canadian crown, the Chinese authorities talked to her father to keep her quiet, USA Today reported.
Miss Word began in 1951 in Britain and was pioneered by Eric Morley. The recent competition was the 65th Miss World, according to China Daily.
