(From left) Miss Earth-Fire Niva Antezana from Peru, Miss Earth-Air Hrafnhildur Haraldsdóttir from Iceland, Miss Earth 2024 Jessica Lane from Australia, and Miss Earth-Water Bea Millan-Windorski from USA. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
A new environmental warrior has emerged, and she is Jessica Lane from Australia who was crowned Miss Earth 2024 in ceremonies held in Manila on Saturday night, Nov. 9.
She bested 75 other aspirants from around the world at the final competition held at the Cove Manila club of Okada Manila in Parañaque City to inherit the crown from Albaninan queen Drita Ziri who won last year.
As Miss Earth 2024, the new queen is expected to serve as a vanguard for environmental awareness and sustainability, the main advocacy that the international pageant has been championing since its inception in 2001.
Three more “elemental” queens were crowned alongside Lane—Miss Earth-Air Hrafnhildur Haraldsdóttir from Iceland, Miss Earth-Water Bea Millan-Windorski from USA, and Miss Earth-Fire Niva Antezana from Peru.
All the four queens now carry the responsibility of promoting the protection of the environment by encouraging the rest of the world to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle to help mitigate the impact of climate change.
The Philippines’ Irha Mel Alfeche ended her pageant quest as part of the Top 12.
The judging panel had former Miss Earth titleholders, Brazil’s Priscilla Meirelles from 2004, Korea’s Mina-Sue Choi from 2022, and Filipino queens Jamie Herrel from 2014 and Karen Ibasco from 2017.
Since their arrival in Manila last month, the 2024 Miss Earth delegates have visited different schools and destinations across the country to spread environmental awareness among students and citizens.
The 2024 pageant also marks the international pageant’s return to its home country, after the 2023 competition was held in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The Miss Earth pageant and its counterpart national competition Miss Philippines Earth were both established by Manila-based organizer Carousel Productions in 2001, to seek “Beauties for a Cause.”