Elise-Gayonne Vernon, 21, of Biscayne, Belize is one of the Miss World 2023 candidates set to compete in India. It is the 71st edition of the oldest active international beauty pageant.

The Belizean beauty queen will arrive in the Asian country before the competition officially starts on February 18, 2024. Miss World Organization chairwoman and chief executive officer Julia Morley, 84, of London, England, United Kingdom will attend the pre-event press conference in New Delhi, India on February 9, 2024.

On March 9, 2024, the coronation ceremony will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India. Including Vernon, a total of 118 women will compete for the crown.

Vernon is a farmer and a certified beekeeper. On October 29, 2022, she won Miss World Belize 2022 at the Ramada Princess Hotel in Belize City, Belize. 

If Vernon wins Miss World 2023, she will inherit the title from Miss World 2021 Karolina Bielawska, 24, of Poland. Crowned on March 16, 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the reigning queen was not able to crown her successor from 2022 to 2023.

This is the second time India is hosting Miss World. The beauty pageant’s 46th titleholder was crowned at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, India on November 23, 1996.

Greece’s Irene Sliva, who won the Miss World 1996 title, competed against 87 other candidates. Belize was not represented.

Belize has yet to place in Miss World. The North American country made its debut in the competition in 1987.