Elona Ndrecaj, 22, of Tirana, Albania 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.

Before the competition, Ndrecaj helped organize an art exhibition in Tirana to honor Mother Teresa, who is of Albanian descent. The latter lived in India where she devoted her life as a nun.

Albania has yet to place in Miss World. The European country made its debut in the competition in 2013.

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. The competition will officially start on February 18, 2024.

On March 9, 2024, the Miss World 2023 coronation ceremony will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India. Including Ndrecaj, a total of 118 women will compete for the crown.

If Ndrecaj wins, 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. Albania was not represented.