MGI All Stars 1st Edition was the inaugural edition of the MGI All Stars pageant, held on 30 May 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. Organized by the Miss Grand International Organization, the competition serves as a spin-off of Miss Grand International, featuring former beauty queens and contestants from national and international pageants, including past Miss Grand International delegates.
A total of 56 contestants competed in the inaugural edition. At the conclusion of the event, Vanessa Pulgarin of Colombia was crowned the first MGI All Stars winner, defeating Faith Maria Porter of Ghana and Hương Giang of Vietnam, who finished as the first and second runners-up, respectively. Pulgarín is expected to return for the second edition to defend her title.
The competition attracted attention for its open scoring format, in which judges' scores and audience voting were displayed in real time, as well as for technical disruptions affecting the online voting system during the Grand Final, prompting concerns from contestants and pageant observers regarding accessibility and transparency.
Background On 4 December 2025, the Miss Grand International Organization announced the launch of its inaugural "All Stars" edition.
Location and date On 7 December 2025, Miss Grand International officially announced that Bangkok, Thailand, will host the first MGI All Stars pageant. The event was originally scheduled to begin on 25 January, with contestants earning scores through various activities and challenges and the Grand Final was planned on 13 February in Thailand.
However, on 24 December 2025, the Miss Grand International Organization rescheduled the inaugural All Stars edition. The decision was made due to extension of New Year holiday period, which could cause visa processing delays for participants from several countries. Miss Grand International Organization also confirmed that all previously announced contestants will remain eligible.
On 10 January 2026, the Miss Grand International Organization officially announced the final schedule. The event will take place from 18 May to 30 May, with the Grand Final planned for 30 May 2026.
Schedule On 8 April 2026, the Miss Grand International Organization announced their official activities during the competition, which are included;
+ MGI All Stars 1st Edition: Schedule of Activities Date Event Location May 16–17 Arrival Day / Registration / Photo Shooting Bangkok, Thailand May 18 Activity "Taste of Thai" / Cooking Class May 19 Activity "Dress of Thai" / Visit Wat Arun / Dinner on Cruise May 20 Welcome All the Stars & Sashing Ceremony May 21–23 Activity at "Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi" Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi May 24 Rehearsal Bangkok, Thailand May 26 Interview Round / Portrait Challenge May 27 Preliminary Round 1 (Evening Gown Competition / Bare Face Competition) May 28 Preliminary Round 2 (Swimsuit Competition / Runway Challenge) May 29 Rehearsal May 30 Final Competition
Selection of participants
The competition is open to cisgender women and transgender women aged 18 to 40 who have previously competed in international beauty pageants, including past Miss Grand International contestants and titleholders from other pageant systems. Married women and mothers are also eligible to compete.
Withdrawals Melisha Lin of Malaysia, Nadyalee Torres of Puerto Rico, Talisha White of the United States Virgin Islands, were initially confirmed to compete, but later withdrew without replacements being appointed, reducing the final number of participants to 56.
Replacements Sthefany Gutiérrez of Venezuela was originally scheduled to compete. However, she later withdrew due to personal reasons and was replaced by Gabriela de la Cruz.
Crown and prizes
MGI confirmed that the winner of the first edition will receive the MGI All Stars crown, and a cash prize ranging from US$100,000 to US$1,000,000. According to the announced prize structure, the winner of this edition will receive the first installment of US$50,000 following the coronation night, while the remaining US$50,000 will be granted upon her return to compete and defend her title in the subsequent edition, regardless of the competition outcome. Should the titleholder successfully secure another victory, an additional cash prize of US$100,000 will be awarded. Furthermore, a bonus prize of US$1,000,000 will be granted if the titleholder achieves three consecutive victories.
The crown for the inaugural edition, known as the All Stars Crown, was designed by Beauty Star and unveiled by Miss Grand International president Nawat Itsaragrisil during the Welcome All the Stars opening ceremony, held on 19 May 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. The crown is awarded as a prize distinct from the annual Miss Grand International crown and is not regarded as a successor title to the reigning Miss Grand International.
Results Placements
Placement Contestant MGI All Stars – Vanessa Pulgarin 1st Runner-Up – Faith Maria Porter 2nd Runner-Up – Hương Giang Top 5 – Mariana Bečková – Gazini Ganados Top 10 – Priscilla Londoño – Yamilex Hernández – Suheyn Cipriani – Tharina Botes – Gabriela de la Cruz Top 18 – Zewen Qin – Nicole Puello – Samantha Quenedit – Francia Cortés – Azzaya Tsogt-Ochir – Thet San Andersen – Fuschia Anne Ravena – Isabella Santiago
Notes
Final Scores The K value varied across competition stages: a benchmark of 100,000 votes was applied to the Top 18 and Top 10 rounds, 299,000 votes to the Top 5 round, and 99,000 votes to the Top 3 round. The K value was automatically adjusted by the system according to the voting volume of each respective round. Changes in the benchmark reflected fluctuations in voting activity; for instance, the benchmark for the Top 5 round increased to nearly three times the earlier level following a substantial rise in the highest voting expenditure recorded.
The following table presents the raw scores from both the judges and public voting, which were subsequently converted into total points based on the organizer's scoring system. Contestant Swimsuit Evening Gown Top 5 Q&A Final Vote Judges Vote Total Judges Vote Total Judges Vote Total Judges Vote TotalVanessa Pulgarin9.78 158 6.85 9.2512,800 6.86 8.70 30,913 6.40 9.23 17,249 6.98Faith Maria Porter 9.61 125 6.73 9.63 3,748 6.859.50 131 6.65 9.86 140 6.91Hương Giang8.6432,860 7.039.8136,695 7.97 8.3164,410 6.468.40 26,524 6.68 Mariana Bečková 9.18 40 6.42 9.88 174 6.93 9.00 2,194 6.32Gazini Ganados 9.49 709 6.66 9.38 13,208 6.97 8.90 2,875 6.26 Tharina Botes 9.71 1,509 6.84 9.69 2,152 6.85Suheyn Cipriani8.91831 6.26 9.21 1,838 6.50Yamilex Hernández9.16118 6.42 9.301,146 6.50Gabriela de la Cruz9.38144 6.57 9.16 304 6.42Priscilla Londoño9.304 6.518.94 51 6.26 Samantha Quenedit 8.71 159 6.10Francia Cortés 8.55 15 5.99Nicole Puello 8.340 5.84Isabella Santiago 8.33 30 5.83Thet San Andersen 7.74 1,777 5.47Fuschia Anne Ravena 7.66 2,315 5.43Azzaya Tsogt-Ochir 7.71 0 5.40Zewen Qin 6.78 0 4.74
Special awards Award Result World's Choice Award Winner – Hương Giang Portrait Challenge Winner – Thet San Andersen Top 6 – Alexia Núñez – Azzaya Tsogt-Ochir – Gazini Ganados – Makeeba Kaaya Animpong – Yada Theppanom Top 20 – Angel Bhathal – Carry Xie – Dela Deniya – Faith Maria Porter – Fuschia Anne Ravena – Gabriela de la Cruz – Hương Giang – Jana Marvanová – Keylyn Trajano – Lattana Munvilay – Lilia Gzraryan – Mika – Qatrisha Zairyah – Vanessa Pulgarin Runway Challenge Winner – Azzaya Tsogt-Ochir Top 10 – Alexia Núñez – Danilka Gérman – Faddya Halabi – Harriotte Lane – Keylyn Trajano – Lilia Gzraryan – Marie Diamala – Tharina Botes – Yamilex Hernández
Pageant Format Participation is open to former national and international pageant contestants. The competition follows a format similar to that of Miss Grand International, featuring preliminary competitions as well as swimsuit, evening gown, and speech-based segments.
The competition includes several activities intended to highlight the contestants' "star quality", including travel assignments, photo shoots, and a fashion show. The preliminary competition takes place over two days: the first day features the swimsuit and evening gown segments, while the second day includes cocktail dress presentations and a "bare face" segment, introduced to emphasize natural beauty and confidence.
The results of the preliminary competition determine the Top 18 contestants, who are announced during the Grand Final. Following the announcement, all scores are reset, after which the Top 10, Top 5, and final Top 3 contestants are selected. The winner is then determined following the final question-and-answer segment.
Scoring system
+Reverse-calculated K value MaxVote K value Top voterecipient Pointsearned Round 26,524 99,000 Hương Giang 0.80Top 3 26,822 100,000 Zewen Qin0.80Preliminary 32,660 100,000 Hương Giang 0.98Top 18 36,695 100,000 Hương Giang 1.10Top 10 64,410 299,000 Hương Giang 0.65Top 5 Throughout the competition, the results of each round are determined through a weighted scoring system consisting of 70% judges’ evaluation and 30% public voting. The same scoring ratio is applied through the selection of the final Top 3 contestants.
According to the organizers, the public voting component is calculated using the "K-System", a benchmark-based proportional scoring method. Under the system, contestants first receive a normalized audience vote score on a 10-point scale based on a fixed benchmark (K value) of 100,000 votes per round. Contestants who meet or exceed the benchmark receive the maximum score, while those who do not reach the threshold receive scores proportionate to the level of support obtained.
The audience vote score is calculated using the following formula:
where Vi represents the number of votes received by contestant i. Under this method, contestants receiving fewer than 100,000 votes are awarded scores proportionate to their vote total, while those reaching or exceeding the threshold receive the full 10 points.
The normalized score is subsequently converted into the public voting component, which accounts for 30% of the total score, using the following formula:
where J represents the average judges’ score and V represents the audience vote score.
The combined scoring formula may be expressed as follows:
Scores from both judges and public voting, together with the names of the judges, are displayed in real time during the competition as part of the event's transparency measures. The organizers described the format as a "fully open scoring system", distinguishing it from the private third-party tabulation services commonly used in beauty pageants to certify competition results.
Voting system disruptions and access concerns The Grand Final on 30 May 2026 was interrupted twice by platform failures. The MGI voting site crashed due to the volume of simultaneous users, causing an approximately one-hour delay. MGI reverted to manual scoring during the affected swimsuit round. As an improvised workaround, MGI set up a physical payment booth near the stage inside MGI Hall, allowing on-site attendees to purchase votes directly by credit card, a measure that created a de facto two-tier system in which those present in Bangkok retained uninterrupted voting access while remote supporters remained locked out. Pageant executive Jonas Gaffud disclosed that his team stationed themselves near the booth throughout every round, spending approximately ₱100,000 per round — around half a million pesos on coronation night alone.