Although the 73rd Miss World competition has yet to begin, the search is already underway for the woman who will represent Trinidad and Tobago at the next edition of the pageant.

More than 40 young women attended a screening exercise for Miss World Trinidad and Tobago 2026, held on Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain on July 12.

The hopefuls were evaluated by a panel that included Miss World 1986, Giselle Laronde-West, who remains Trinidad and Tobago’s only Miss World winner.

Following the screening, at least nine contestants will be selected from the screening to move on to the next stage of the competition.

Those finalists will undergo approximately three months of training before competing in the national final, where one contestant will earn the right to wear the Miss World Trinidad and Tobago crown.

The winner will succeed Miss World Trinidad and Tobago 2025, Georgia-Lee Gill.

Before handing over her title, however, Gill,24, will represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 73rd Miss World Festival, where she will compete against more than 100 contestants from around the world.

The festival is scheduled to begin in Hanoi, Vietnam, on August 9, with the grand finale taking place in Nha Trang on September 5.

Trinidad and Tobago has established itself as one of the Caribbean’s strongest performers at the international pageant in recent years, placing in the Top 40 at every Miss World competition since 2019.

The country’s best recent performance came at Miss World 2023, when Aché Abrahams finished as second runner-up, won the Miss World Caribbean title, placed in the Top 10 of both the Beauty With a Purpose and Top Model competitions, reached the Top 23 in Talent, and advanced to the Top 25 in the Head-to-Head Challenge.