Maria Solonari of Moldova, an eastern European country and former Soviet republic, has won the Miss World Noble Queen 2023 crown.
The 24-year-old model and dance teacher beat 17 other contestants from around the world to the title in the pageant final held at Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 12, 2023.
She won cash and prizes worth USD10,000 as well as the Miss Supermodel subsidiary title.
The newly minted beauty queen was awarded the coveted crown by Miss World Noble Queen 2019 Sonia Mansur of France.
Maria was followed by Ha My Nhi, 22, a model and student from Vietnam, who took the first runner-up spot and Diao Shua, 30, a master’s degree student from China was named second runner-up.
In addition, the pageant finally has a 2022 world champion with Laura Sumeghy of Hungary crowned as the Miss World Noble Queen 2022, after three years waiting due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Participants from Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and host Malaysia were also represented at the event.
Healthy vegetarian meal was served during the Miss World Noble Queen grand final to promote environmental awareness and a healthy lifestyle.
Sponsors and partners which supported the event included First Pavilion Global Bhd (main sponsor), Tielbo Jewelry Watches, Rotary Club of Bangsar, Afourj, Berjaya Times Square Hotel (official hotel and world final venue), The Pines Melaka and Courtyard by Marriott Melaka.
Other sponsors and partners were Since 1939, P198 ExoHealer, Aaagain Cafe Melaka, Roppongi 35, 李姑娘, Ni Luck Academy, Makeover Paris, Clover Makeup & Beauty Academy, Fei Fei Yang Yang Hotpot Restaurant and Forbidden City (Sunway Velocity).
Organised by Miss World Noble Queen founder Jan Sit, the pageant has received the support and endorsement from Tourism Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The Miss World Noble Queen pageant was the third time Malaysia hosted the competition held since 2015. The pageant last hosted in 2019, in Hong Kong when Miss France took the crown.
Winning the Miss World Noble Queen 2023 title is sure a triumph for Maria, who previously was placed fourth runner-up in Miss All Nations 2019 in China, and made it to the top 10 in Miss Aura International 2020 in Turkey.
“I am very happy for the title obtained because it can be hard to win for the Republic of Moldova, being a small nation but it has its positives.
“I appreciate the work of all the organizers because they managed to create some beautiful memories for us that will stay with us for life, this being the most important thing,” Maria said in an interview.
She said international competitions helped to broaden her horizon and thinking by exposing her to new ideas and cultures.
“In addition to all the knowledge I have accumulated over time, I believe that everyone noticed my lightness in this competition because I did not come with the goal of winning, but I came with the goal of living a new experience with beautiful people from different countries.
“I lived every moment to the fullest and I am very glad that I managed to discover new cultures, values and traditions that united us and created us as a family.”
Maria graduated from IO Models School by Inga Ojog in 2017. Since then, she has been active in the modelling industry nationally and internationally whenever she has the opportunity.
“I am very glad that at the moment I managed to become a modelling and dance teacher because I get a special pleasure from guiding the little one’s step by step in the world of modelling and dancing.
“Of course, I am very happy about all my collaborations that I managed to obtain but nothing compares to the emotions experienced by a teacher when she sees the results of her students both nationally and internationally,” she said.
When asked what she finds interesting about Malaysia which she may not have known before, Maria answered, “This is my first time visiting Kuala Lumpur and I was very impressed. The people here are very warm and welcoming, everyone greets each other, interacts, appreciates the work of others and is always ready to help you regardless of the situation, this is to be appreciated nowadays.
“The food was very tasty and special for me. I had the opportunity to taste everything and there really wasn’t anything I tasted that I didn’t like. I’m a fruit lover and I enjoyed all the exotic fruits to the maximum, as they are not produced in Moldova because of the climate.
“In general, I liked Malaysia and I am sure that I will return as soon as possible to get to know it even more.”
The ambitious young woman has her own version of success, constantly doing everything within her power to be the best version of herself.
“I am sure that any change starts from ourselves, so I always continue to become a version of myself as best as possible to convey the positive values and as much love as possible to everyone who surrounds us, so step by step, together we can bring a change to society.”
Miss World Noble Queen 2023 Official Pageant Results
Champion: Maria Solonari, 24, model, Moldova
1st Runner up: Ha My Nhi, 22, model and student, Vietnam
2nd Runner up: Diao Shuai, 30, Master’s degree student, China
Miss World Noble Queen 2022
Champion: Laura Sumeghy, 19, student, Hungary
Subsidiary Title Winners
1. Best National Costume – Izabella Pok Le Sia, Malaysia & Ha My Nhi, Vietnam
2. Miss Creativity – Laura Sumeghy, Hungary & Karagianni Alexia, Greece
3. Miss Talented – Boglarka Lesko, Hungary & Szonja Dudik, Slovakia
4. Miss Supermodel – Solonari Maria, Moldova
5. Miss Photogenic – Eva Pua Suet Yee, Miri, Sarawak
6. Miss Charity Queen 2023 – Boglarka Lesko, Hungary
7. Miss Asia Noble Queen 2023 – Iwama Natsumi, Japan
8. Miss Influencer – Boglarka Lesko, Hungary
9. Miss Popularity – Sangeeta Rani, India
10.Miss Congeniality – Izabella Pok Le Sia, Malaysia
11.Miss Best Body Beautiful – Roksana Adrianna Oraniec, Poland
