Miss Gibraltar Julia Horne makes it to the top 20 at the Miss World Festival

Miss Gibraltar Julia Horne has made Gibraltar proud making it to the final 20 at the Miss World Festival.

Miss World celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and has seen efforts to rebrand itself as empowering for women, emphasising personal achievements and social contributions over physical appearance.

The show includes Beauty with a Purpose, the organisation’s charitable arm that awards contestants for humanitarian and community service projects.

Julia was fast-tracked into the final 40, having won the people’s vote.

Miss Dominican Republic was crowned Miss World 2026 with Miss Spain in second place and Miss Malaysia in third.

The four and a half hour pageant, held in Vietnam, was live on GBC Television.

Tanzania will host the event next year.

Julia and her manager Kelvin Hewitt thanked Gibraltar for its support.