Nigeria’s Soye Karibi-George Wins Africa Top Model at Miss World 2026 

Nigeria now has a confirmed place in the Miss World 2026 Top 40, thanks to Soye Karibi-George’s win in the African Top Model competition on August 27.

The 73rd Miss World competition is being held in Vietnam from August 9 to September 5, with contestants taking part in a festival that has taken them to different parts of the country.

The edition has brought together 111 contestants, with the final set for September 5 in Nha Trang. It is the first time Vietnam is hosting Miss World, and the organisation is also marking its75th anniversary.

The 26-year-old emerged as Africa's Top Model at the Vietnam Beauty Fashion Fest XVII, earning an automatic place in the Top 40 quarter-finals.

The Top Model challenge is a runway competition where contestants are judged on their presence, confidence, poise and ability to present a designer's creation. The first round began in Hải Phòng before the competition moved to its next stage in Nha Trang.

Soye, as she is popularly known, finished ahead of representatives from Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya and South Africa to take the continental title. Three other continental Top Model winners were also named alongside her.

Nigeria joins Africa's confirmed Top 40 contestants

The Top Model challenge is one of the fast-track routes into this year's Top 40. Under the 2026 format, the competition is divided into four regions, with Africa eventually accounting for 10 of the 40 quarter-finalists.

Soye's victory means Nigeria already has one of those African places secured.

She joins South Africa'sRomanda Hombir, who secured her own Top 40 place after winning the African Head-to-Head Challenge. The Miss World organisation announced Hombir alongside the other three continental Head-to-Head winners on August 27.

Africa now has at least two confirmed representatives in the Top 40 as the competition moves towards the September 5 final.Contestants have also taken part in cultural, environmental and community activities around Vietnam.

The next stage

The four continental Top Model winners will compete for the overall Top Model title, with the winner receiving an automatic place in the Top 20 under the 2026 Miss World format. Soye has not secured that place yet, and other qualification and judging routes remain open to her.

The Top 20 will later be reduced to 12 contestants, then six, before the winner is crowned in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on September 5.

Soye's campaign

She is a communications professional, fashion model and social advocate from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. She won the Miss World Nigeria title in June after representing Bayelsa State.

Her Beauty With a Purpose project, Beyond Labels, focuses on inclusion and opportunities for children with disabilities and special needs. She has continued the project as part of her Miss World campaign.

She has also performed as a singer during the festival.

Nigeria's Miss World history

In 2001, Agbani Darego became the first Nigerian to win the Miss World crown. More recently, Nigeria's Joy Mojisola Raimi reached the Top 20 at the 2025 competition.

Soye is now through to the Top 40, with the overall Top Model contest still ahead of her. The Miss World 2026 final is scheduled for September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.