Yasmina Zaytoun's Miss World success: A celebration that resounds from Lebanon to Mauritius

Report by Petra Abou Haydar, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

After Miss Lebanon Yasmina Zaytoun's recent win on the global stage, a team from LBCI headed from Lebanon to the Island of Mauritius, located in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa.

On this stunning island, LBCI's first encounter was with Miss Lebanon, Yasmina Zaytoun, after she won the titles of Miss World Asia 2024 and first runner-up for the 71st Miss World, marking a significant achievement.

For the first time since the competition, and after spending three weeks in India preparing for it, Yasmina, along with nine other beauty queens representing different continents and a delegation from the Miss World Organisation, traveled to this island.

Yasmina, the queen who not only secured the titles of Miss World Asia and the first runner-up for the pageant, topped the stage with her sweet personality and intelligence.

She presented the most beautiful image of Lebanon.

During an interview, Yasmina Zaytoun said that she spent significant time preparing for her participation in this pageant with LBCI, especially as she was getting ready mentally, believing that something good was set to happen for Lebanon and Lebanese women.

Yasmina Zaytoun's selection for all stages of the pageant was not a coincidence. As she explained to LBCI, she was chosen because she believed in the power of her message, saying: "I focused on topics other people perhaps hesitated to tackle."

She added, "Beauty with a Purpose had a deep significance for me as a Lebanese, as we are going through an economic crisis [...] and everything we went through after the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion [...], I had to showcase what the Lebanese people are going through and how strong we are. "

She noted that after three weeks, "we should rest a little from everything we have done [...] I can't wait to return to Lebanon."

On another note, Julia Morley CBE, Chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organisation, told LBCI: "Well, I can tell you about Yasmina in a way that I can tell you about Lebanon. She is kind, like Lebanese people. She is warm, like Lebanese people. She loves tourism, like Lebanese want, and we must all work together to make that possible."

She added: "She's a great representative. We love her dearly, and we hope she will work with us for the rest of the year to support the causes around the world."

"I love Miss Lebanon. I spoke to her this morning at breakfast and told her how impactful she is and how important her voice is for little girls who look like her and come from places like she does," Miss World Caribbean 2024 Aché Abrahams told LBCI.

Speaking to LBCI, Miss England Jessica Ashley Gagen expressed: "I would love to come to Lebanon. I have been to the Middle East a few times, never Lebanon, and I want to see everywhere based on knowing Miss Lebanon."

"I think it must be amazing. She is so wonderful, so I can't wait to come and see her one day," she added.

"Honestly, she is Miss World for me," Miss World New Zealand Navjot Kaur noted.