Vietnam named Miss InterContinental 2022 at finale in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh

Event was held at Meraki Resort with 70 contestants battling it out for the crown

Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc of Vietnam is named Miss Intercontinental 2022, with first runner-up Mariela Pepin (Puerto Rico) and second runner-up Cecilia Almeida (Brazil). All photos: Instagram / @missintercontinentalofficial

Daiana Stefani Paereyra, Miss Argentina.

Viktoria Sokhikyan, Miss Armenia.

Courtney Tester, Miss Australia.

Marechan Burrows, Miss Bahamas.

Zabiba Sazzad, Miss Bangladesh.

Laurine Remans, Miss Belgium.

Maria Cecilia Almeida de Sousa, Miss Brazil.

Zhana Yaneva, Miss Bulgaria.

Sim Sreymom, Miss Cambodia.

Rachel Arhin, Miss Canada.

Kelsey Kohler Rojas, Miss Chile.

Estefania Munoz Jaramillo, Miss Colombia.

Dayanna Watson Marchena, Miss Costa Rica.

Liliana Galenko, Miss Crimea.

Lourdes Feliu, Miss Cuba.

Stepheni Gregoria, Miss Curacao.

Karolina Syrotukova, Miss Czech Republic.

Clara Sophie Lund, Miss Denmark.

Maria Felix, Miss Dominican Republic.

Mohra Tantawy, Miss Egypt.

Andrea Aguilar, Miss El Salvador.

Brooke Nicola Smith, Miss England.

Annika Vendla, Miss Estonia.

Roosa Alexandra Kaarina Tuominen, Miss Finland.

Pauline Thimon, Miss France.

Tiko Svanidze, Miss Georgia.

Tatjana Genrich, Miss Germany.

Rebecca Otcherewaa Ohene, Miss Ghana.

Chrysi Kavraki, Miss Greece.

Sandra Johnnyxa Hinds, Miss Honduras.

Patricia Perger, Miss Hungary.

Shreya Verma, Miss India.

Dita Fatimauzzahra, Miss Indonesia.

Chavelle Kavanaugh, Miss Jamaica.

Sarah Kawamura, Miss Japan.

Eulene Vulegani, Miss Kenya.

Jeevasheny Anang Kodiappan, Miss Malaysia.

Mahamoodally Zakiyyah, Miss Mauritius.

Michelle Luna, Miss Mexico.

Viktorija Stojiljkovic, Miss Montenegro.

Jihane Ait el Ghari, Miss Morocco.

Bipana Adhikari, Miss Nepal.

Melissa Tjemma Janneke Bottema, Miss Netherlands.

Rovelyn Milford, Miss New Zealand.

Joy Raimi Mojisola, Miss Nigeria.

Alexandra Paredes Picon, Miss Peru.

Gabrielle Camille Basiano, Miss Philippines.

Klaudia Andrzejewska, Miss Poland.

Nadiuska Martin Gutierrez, Miss Portugal.

Mariela Pepin, Miss Puerto Rico.

Denisa Andreea Malacu, Miss Romania.

Anastasia Boslovyak, Miss Russia.

Melissa Douglas, Miss Scotland.

Jovana Lisanin, Miss Serbia.

Shannen Henrie, Miss Seychelles.

Gerlyn Cheah, Miss Singapore.

Sylvia Sulikova, Miss Slovak Republic.

Taahirah Zungu, Miss South Africa.

Laia Gutierrez Sanz, Miss Spain.

Anna-Marie Suzanne Quint Ondaatje, Miss Sri Lanka.

Ria Raj, Miss Sweden.

Amanda Ayamuang, Miss Thailand.

Silan Torun, Miss Turkey.

Azarel Hevia, Miss UAE.

Valevska Valeriia, Miss Ukraine.

Michelle Charlotte Thorlund, Miss USA.

Emmy Marianne Carrero Mora, Miss Venezuela.

Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Miss Vietnam.

Nadia King, Miss Wales.

Yollanda Elizabeth Chimbarami, Miss Zimbabwe.

Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc, from Vietnam, was named Miss InterContinental 2022 this weekend at the international pageant's finale held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The model, 21, succeeds Cinderella Faye Obenita of the Philippines, to take the crown and become the first representative from Vietnam to win the title in the pageant's 50 years.

The event took place at Meraki Resort on Friday, as 70 contestants battled it out in a series of rounds.

Mariela Pepin, from Puerto Rico, was the first runner-up, followed by Brazil's Maria Cecilia Almeida de Sousa.

Contestants from Nigeria, Germany and Venezuela were third, fourth and fifth runners-up, respectively.

From the region, there were representatives on behalf of the UAE, Egypt and Morocco, although none of them placed in the top 20.

Scroll through the gallery above to see the contestants from Miss InterContinental 2022

Le Nguyen was born in Can Tho, in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, and made her first international trip for the competition in Egypt.

She was also named first runner-up at Miss World Vietnam this year, and won Miss InterContinental Asia and Oceania.

"To be the most beautiful woman of all continents means to be a woman who possesses all qualities of a modern-day queen and who is committed to being an ambassador for her community," she says in her biography on the Miss InterContinental website.

"I am determined to bring the brightest values and most authentic version of a modern Vietnamese woman, of myself."

The decision to give Miss Vietnam the title was controversial, with many commentators on social media saying other countries were "robbed" and others saying the pageant was a "joke".

"Puerto Rico had the toughest question and the best answer, these pageants seriously confuse me," wrote one Instagram user in a comment on the official account for Miss InterContinental.

"Can't believe Thailand didn't make [the] top 5," wrote someone else.

Others were less aggrieved. "Stop spreading hate and learn to accept the result," wrote another commenter.

Miss InterContinental is a lesser-known pageant on the circuit, which includes the Big Four international titles: Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.

It started in 1971 as a promotional event for tourism in Aruba, and grew from there.

It includes an evening gown, swimsuit and personality sections. Like other pageants, beauty queens must win a national contest before competing in the global event.

Contestants have to be aged between 18 and 28, and cannot be married, divorced, pregnant or have children. The title-holders are not allowed to get married throughout their year of reign.

Rules such as these have been controversial in the pageant world for decades and this year the Miss Universe Organisation made a historic decision to change qualification rules for contestants for the first time in its 70-year history. The organisation said it will allow married women and mothers to participate.

Previously, only single women, aged between 18 and 28, who have never been married or had children, could compete.

"We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human's personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success," the memo said.

However, the new rules will not be applicable to the January 14 pageant, as many countries had already named their delegates when the decision was made. They will be effective for the 72nd Miss Universe contest, likely to be held later next year.

Miss Universe 2022 beauty queens crowned so far — in pictures