Past Grand Finals

Grand Final 2023

The longest and most fun-filled Miss Universe Great Britain final in its history took place in 2023. The finalists took part in an action packed four day final in South Wales which involved a confidence boosting empowerment day, a Bring A Bra Ball for charity, a boho themed festival evening with photoshoots, a catwalk show – and a firewalk which was a first for the pageant.

Jessica Page from Liverpool was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2023. It was Jess’s third attempt at the crown having competed previously in 2016, when she placed in the top five, and later in 2019 when she was unplaced. Her message is ‘never give up on your dreams!’

Grand Final 2022

The Miss Universe Great Britain 2022 final was a three day celebration of the sisterhood of British pageantry with finalists enjoying our NOT IN VAIN Empowerment Day where they walked barefoot over broken glass and broke wooden boards with their bare hands. They also attended A-SISTER-FEST – a festival style evening of music, food, drink and dancing in a rural setting in the Welsh countryside. Day two was the Bring A Bra Ball in aid of A-Sisterhood and on the final day Noky Simbani – a commercial banker from Derby with a degree in mechanical engineering - was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2022 in front of a sell out crowd at The Riverfront in Newport.

Grand Final 2021

After the easing of Coronavirus restrictions, the Miss Universe Great Britain 2021 final took place as a live event over three days in October 2021. Photoshoots, an empowerment day and the annual Bring A Bra Ball took place in the magnificent setting of Miskin Manor while the coronation evening itself was celebrated at The Riverfront in Newport. The sisterhood of British pageantry with all their crowns and sashes turned out for the event and witnessed the crowning of Emma Rose Collingridge who will represent Great Britain at Miss Universe 2021 in Israel.

Grand Final 2020

The Miss Universe Great Britain 2020 final was a selection process with a difference as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In December 2020, 18 finalists attended an interview with a panel of judges, and enjoyed a series of photoshoots and social media challenges with the Miss Universe Great Britain organisation in London. On International Women’s Day 2021, after an additional virtual selection process dictated by the restrictions of the Coronavirus pandemic, the top three contestants were selected by judges. After a Zoom question and answer session, Jeanette Akua was announced as Miss Universe Great Britain 2020. Sophie Moulds was first runner up and Amy Meisak came third.

Grand Final 2019

The Miss Universe Great Britain 2019 competition took place in South Wales over three days in July 2019. Highlights of the event included the NOT IN VAIN empowerment day where finalists walked barefoot over broken glass, broke wooden boards with their hands and broke arrows with their necks; the Bring A Bra Ball which saw nearly 1,000 bras collected for women and girls in Africa thanks to A-Sisterhood and the sell-out grand final which was won by 26-year-old Emma Jenkins from Llanelli. Miss Universe Great Britain 2019 - which was sponsored by Cara Jewellers Dubai, Doyen Style, Renova Clinic and Just Boutique – supported the not-for-profit organisation www.a-sisterhood.org.uk which helps female charities both in the UK and overseas. In the run up to the final the contestants raised more than £20,000 for a number of female related causes including Llamau, a charity which helps homeless women in Wales; the National FGM Centre which is working to end female genital mutilation in the UK, Stop Acid Attacks in India which helps women who have survived acid crime and also The Black Mambas which is South Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching unit protecting the rhino.

Grand Final 2018

The Miss Universe Great Britain 2018 finals took place in Cardiff and Newport over three days in July 2018.

The event involved a series of activities including a MUGB empowerment day in line with the competition’s NOT IN VAIN message; a yoga session, dance flash mob, swimsuit photocall; media interviews, breakfast at HMP Cardiff in the Clink, a cocktail party and celebration dinner as well as the final catwalk event itself. The competition - was sponsored by Cara Jewellers Dubai, Doyen Style and Just Boutique – amd supported the not-for-profit organisation www.a-sisterhood.org.uk which helps female charities both in the UK and overseas. In the run up to the final the contestants raised more than £15,000 for the causes: Llamau, a charity which helps homeless women in Wales; the National FGM Centre which is working to end female genital mutilation in the UK, Stop Acid Attacks in India which helps women who have survived acid crime and also The Black Mambas which is South Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching unit protecting the rhino The title went to Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers of Birmingham; Simren Vernon of Farnham came second and Cara Frew from London was third.

Grand Final 2017

Twenty-five-year-old, Anna Burdzy from Leicester, was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2017. Anna was born in the UK to Polish parents and is currently studying for a masters in law (specialising in human rights) at The University of Nottingham. She hopes to work for the United Nations or Foreign Office. She took the title in front of a sell-out audience at the grand final in The Riverfront in Newport. Thirty-five young women from across England, and Scotland and Wales competed for the chance to represent the UK on the Miss Universe stage later in the year. The competition - which was sponsored by Giovanni’s Restaurants and Smilize - was held over four days in Cardiff at the host hotel – the Mercure Holland House. On Wednesday, finalists attended the Cooking for A Cause event at Giovanni’s Cookery School to raise money for Sheroes Hangout in India which helps acid attack survivors; on Thursday, they took part in an empowerment day with leadership coach Tosin Ogunussi. During the day, they bent iron rods with their necks and broke wooden boards with their bare hands in the name of self-belief. On Friday, they took part in a flash mob and then enjoyed a cocktail party and a celebration dinner at Giovanni’s on Park Place; and on day four the contestants had an interview with the judges and took part in three catwalk rounds. In the run up to the final the contestants fundraised for Strongbones Children’s Charitable Trust. Together the contestants raised £12,000 for the charity. More than £3000 was also raised by the competition for Sheroes. Anna said: “Winning the title really means everything to me. I first competed in 2014 when I came 1st runner up so this represents the culmination of three years hard work. I am looking forward to so many things particularly travelling, working with good causes and making friends along the way.” Giovanni Malacrino, headline sponsor of Miss Universe Great Britain 2017, said: “I backed the competition to support young women as they aim high in life and try to make a difference at the same time. What they have done for good causes is amazing and I really look forward to seeing Anna go from strength to strength.”

Grand Final 2016

Jaime-lee Faulkner took the title of Miss Universe Great Britain 2016 in front of a sell-out audience at the grand final in South Wales on Saturday 23 July, which was sponsored by Giovanni’s Restaurants. Thirty young women from across England, and Scotland and Wales competed for the chance to represent the UK on the Miss Universe stage later in the year. The competition was held over four days in Cardiff at the host hotel – the Cardiff Marriott. On Wednesday 20 July, finalists attended the Cooking for A Cause event at Giovanni’s Cookery School to raise money for Sheroes Hangout in India which helps acid attack survivors; on Thursday 21 July, they took part in an empowerment day with leadership coach Harry Singha. During the day, they broke wooden boards with their bare hands in the name of self-belief. On Friday 22 July, they had a fitness challenge, flashmob, cocktail party and a celebration dinner at Giovanni’s on Park Place; and on day three, the contestants had an interview with the judges and took part in three catwalk rounds. In the run up to the final the contestants have been fundraising for Strongbones Children’s Charitable Trust. Together the contestants raised nearly £9,000 for the charity. More than £2,700 has also been raised by the competition for Sheroes with more to come.

Other prizes went to:

• Christina Chalk from Dunblane who was 1st runner up
• Samantha Hancock from Cardiff who was 2nd runner up. Samantha also won an award for the best skin, presented by Dr Juliano Crema
• Hayley Galloway from West Lothian who won Miss Charity having raised more than £1700 for Strongbones
• Sharlene Bayliss who won the public vote
• Stacey McGrady from Edinburgh who took the NOT IN VAIN campaign award
• Romy McCahill from Glasgow who won the best hair prize
• Jaime-lee also won the Business Bursary Award sponsored by Elsby & Co

Grand Final 2015

Thirty six young women from across England, and Scotland and Wales competed for the chance to represent the UK on the 2015 Miss Universe stage. The finalists spent three days in Cardiff at the host hotel – the Cardiff Marriott. On Thursday 25 June, they took part in an empowerment day with leadership coach Harry Singha. During the day, they broke wooden boards with their bare hands in the name of self-belief. On day two (Friday 26 June) they had a fitness challenge, flashmob, cocktail party and a celebration dinner; and on day three, the contestants had an interview with the judges and took part in three catwalk rounds including swimwear and evening wear.

Nena France won the overall title. Other awards went to:

• Victoria Winterford who was first runner up/li>
• Kelly Rowland who was second runner up
• Katherine Blake for the best social media programme
• Danielle Latimer who was awarded the NOT IN VAIN campaign prize
• Sarah Archer who won Best Hair

Grand Final 2014

The Miss Universe GB grand final was a fantastic three day affair which included a leadership coaching day as part of the pageant’s NOT IN VAIN campaign; a celebration dinner with friends and family; a fitness challenge; swimwear photocall as well as the grand final itself. Many of the events took place at our host hotel the Cardiff Marriott. Twenty four year old Grace Levy from London took the title, with Anna Burdzy from Leicester coming second while Sophie Loudon from Glasgow came third.

Other prizes went to:

• Luissa Burton for public vote and Miss Charity
• Gabriella for Miss Socialite in recognition of her Miss Universe GB social media
• Anna Burdzy for Best Skin
• Amy Townsend for Best Hair
• Lauren Lovejoy for Miss Congeniality and the NOT IN VAIN campaign award

Here are some comments back from our finalists this year:

• Marissa Evans: "Best weekend of my life."
• Alex Jeffery: "I just want to say thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of such a fantastic event. I have had an amazing time and enjoyed every single minute of it."
• Amy Townsend: "I've had the most amazing experience, met some great friends and gained so much more confidence from entering the final."
• Theresa Ashley: "Thank you for all the hard work you put into making this journey so special and empowering for all the girls."
• Danielle Latimer: "Thank you to Vibe for literally everything, this best experience ever and I have taken so many wonderful memories and skills away from this whole experience. Big love to you! "
• Anna Burdzy: "Thank you Vibe for one of the most incredible experiences in my life."
• Luissa Burton: "Thank you for a great weekend and a very organised pageant."
• Katherine Elyse Blake: "I didn't win but it was truly the best three days ever!"
• Shani Lane: "Big congratulations to the beautiful Grace Levy on becoming miss universe gb! Massive thank you to Paula and her team at Vibe. Thank you to all the finalists for making my first pageant experience amazing."
• Amanda Quinn: "Miss Universe Great Britain was THE most exceptional of wickedly awesome super excellent times! Could eat that good stuff for breakfast everyday. Literally LOVED every single tiny bit!"
• Emily Coral: "Thank you for organising such an amazing weekend - they will be memories that will stay with me for ever and I'm so pleased I met some amazing girls are made some great friends. I loved every second so thank you again xxxx"

Grand Final 2013

Grand Final 2012

An audience of nearly 500 people watched the grand final of Miss Universe Great Britain 2012 at the Town Hall in Birmingham over the May bank holiday weekend. The contestants took part in an interview with a panel of eight judges befor eappearing on the catwalk in three rounds: red, white and blue cocktail wear;swimwear and evening wear.

A number of prizes were awarded on the evening. They were:

• The People’s Choice (winner of the public vote): Lorraine Stretch
• Miss Congeniality, sponsored by the Sunstar Group: Samantha Rnic
• Miss Charity, presented by The Joshua Foundation: Sophia Wilmot Josife and
• Miss Charity, presented by The Hemraj Goyal Foundation, Pammy Nauranga
• Best Hair, sponsored by Vision Hair Design, which was won by Hayley Kelly
• NOT IN VAIN campaign award winner, presented by Vibe: Roxy Osborne and Neuza Vika

The winner was Holly Hale from Llanelli; in second place was Sandra Lees from Coventry; while Margarita Nazarenko from London came third. Holly will now go on to represent Great Britain at Miss Universe in November.

Grand Final 2011

LAST NIGHT Chloe-Beth Morgan from Torfaen was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2011 at a glittering ceremony in Birmingham.

The twenty five year old student, took to the stage at the ICC along with 38 other young women in a bid to win the title and will now go on to represent Great Britain at Miss Universe in Brazil in September.

Chloe-Beth said: “This is an incredible opportunity for me and I am extremely excited about going to Brazil and meeting all the other contestants from more than 80 countries worldwide.

“I have heard from past winners that the experience will be an incredible one. Miss Universe is one of the most well respected pageants in the world and being a part of it is a dream come true.”

The competition raised £31,500 for the Miss Universe GB chosen charity, The Joshua Foundation, which provides holidays and experiences for children with cancer.

As well as going to Miss Universe, Chloe-Beth will also spend much of her year acting as an ambassador for the charity.

Today, her first job will be to enjoy a shopping spree, courtesy of Dorothy Perkins in Birmingham, to start choosing her wardrobe of clothes for the Miss Universe finals in Brazil.

One of her other first official engagements will involve a trip to Morocco in June to open the very first Costcutter overseas with the Sunstar Group.

The event, sponsored by The Connaught Hotel, was hosted by Ultimate Big Brother winner, Brian Dowling and Miss Universe GB 2010, Tara Hoyos-Martinez.

The first runner up was Natasha Crook from London while Summer Ghanavati from Cardiff came third.  

The women took part in an interview and then three catwalk rounds in front of a panel of judges. They were England rugby star Olly Barkley; model and TV personality Nicola McLean; Miss England 1987 Tracey Williams; Miss Universe GB 2009 Clair Cooper; Dorothy Perkins press officer Rachel Cornick; Harry Bindra owner of The Connaught Hotel; photographer Andy Lesauvage; CEO and creative director of Sandstorm Boutique Naomi John; barrister and journalist Rehna Azim; and Gayle Harper brand manager of Su-do professional.

Paula Abbandonato of events company Vibe is national director of Miss Universe Great Britain. She said: “We wish Chloe-Beth all the very best on her Miss Universe voyage. It’s going to be a year like no other for her and we hope she enjoys every minute of it. There were a terrific line up of girls in this year’s competition and so she has done well to take the title. I hope she does equally as well at Miss Universe in Brazil in September.”

Grand Final 2010

THE MISS UNIVERSE Great Britain Grand Final saw 36 young women from England, Scotland and Wales compete for the crown at a glittering ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC on Sunday 2 May 2010. The winner was Tara Hoyos-Martinez, a 20-year-old student from London, who is studying Medicinal and Biological Chemistry at Manchester Metropolitan University. A number of awards were given on the evening including Best Bikini Body sponsored by Sandstorm Boutique, which was won by Kathryn Lane from Cardiff. Kathryn will be given swimwear from the luxury online retailer as her prize. A selection of swimwear will also be given to Tara by Sandstorm Boutique to take to the Miss Universe pageant. Other winners on the evening were Reena Patel, who was The People’s Choice, after winning the public vote. As well as winning the overall title, Tara Hoyos-Martinez was also named Miss Charity after generating £2,400 for The Joshua Foundation in the run up to the competition final. The top five on the evening were Tara Hoyos-Martinez who placed first; Kelly Pesticcio from Cardiff who came second and Kathryn Lane also from Cardiff who came third. The other two contestants who took top five placings were Roopa Kukadia from London and Debbie O’Toole from Liverpool. Event organiser, Paula Abbandonato from Vibe, said: “We are extremely thankful to all our sponsors, contestants and supporters who made the 2010 final a weekend to remember. I am thrilled with our winner and wish Tara the very best of luck representing Great Britain at Miss Universe.”

Grand Final 2009

It was a wonderful evening at the ICC in Birmingham when 34 beautiful young women took to the stage to compete for the title Miss Universe GB 2009. The event raised more than £30,000 for The Joshua Foundation, a charity for children with terminal cancer. The winner, Clair Cooper, will now go on to represent Great Britain at this year's Miss Universe competition.

This year the Miss Universe GB® competition raised more than £30,000 for its chosen charity The Joshua Foundation - an organisation that provides holidays and life experiences for children with terminal cancer. As well as going to Miss Universe®, Clair will also spend much of her year acting as an ambassador for The Joshua Foundation travelling to the likes of Mongolia, Australia and Romania.

Paula Abbandonato, director of Vibe Models, said: “We are thrilled with our winner and delighted to have raised so much for charity at the same time. It’s been a very exciting year and we wish Clair the best of luck at Miss Universe® in August.”

Runners-up in the competition were 25-year-old Lydia Yhnell from Newport and 19 year old Alize Mounter from Rhondda, Cynon, Taff.

Grand Final 2008

Lisa Lazarus is crowned Miss Universe GB 2008 at a glittering ceremony in London.