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Miss World TT Anna-Lise Nanton thanked her supporters and well-wishers for their support during the pageant process on June 1.
She made it to the top 40 in the Miss World 2025 held at HITEX Exhibition Centre, India, on May 31, but did not progress to the top 20. Miss Thailand Suchata Chuangsri was eventually crowned Miss World 2025.
Nanton won in the fast-track, head-to-head challenge and also placed in the sport and talent categories.
In a WhatsApp message, Nanton told her team and supporters: “Before this group chat closes, I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for your incredible support throughout this journey.
“While the outcome wasn’t what we had all hoped for, I am so proud to have had the honour of representing my country on the international stage, and that alone, is something I will forever treasure.”
She added that TT consistently making the Miss World finals over the last four years was a “remarkable achievement” and “a true testament to the calibre and commitment of this team.”
Co-director of The Miss World Trinidad and Tobago franchise Navin Boodhai, however, hopes Nanton's success can encourage greater public and private investment.
In a phone interview on June 1, Boodhai said while his team was a little bit disappointed and it was not the outcome for which they were hoping, Nanton exceeded expectations in terms of her level of consistency and the level of representation she generated.
Boodhai said Nanton had created a strong fanbase both locally and internationally and that augured well for the future of the local franchise.
He added Nanton’s performance gave the slumping pageant industry a boost.
“For many years, pageantry was going downhill. Many thought, last year with Ache (Abrahams, 2024 Miss World second runner-up), it was our first time we would have had a representative since we owned the franchise. Many people thought it was a one-off.”
However, the holders have focused on creating a development programme to prepare young women for the competition and Abrahams was the first along with 17 other girls in the 2022 edition of that.
“In 2024, we had another 17 girls and Anna-Lise did phenomenally well in the local leg,” Boodhai said.
Boodhai said it took a year of developmental work to get Nanton ready for the May 31 competition as she had had no previous pageant experience, but she worked hard and became the kind of candidate TT needed on the global stage.
“She should be praised for what she has done on the global stage and from a tourism point-of-view,” Boodhai added.
He said many learned about TT through Nanton.
Both Boodhai and Miss World TT co-director designer Charu Lochan Dass want to build on the work of Abrahams and Nanton in the coming years.
“Private and public (sector) need to put a lot more emphasis on using these pageants as tourism builders,” Boodhai said.
He added that his wife is part of the fashion industry which had not grown over the years, but pageantry could assist in helping its growth.
“We have had so many great designers but they have not been able to make their mark globally and that is what countries like Thailand and others are doing: they are creating an industry.”
Pageantry is a major earner for Thailand.
Boodhai said he hoped TT’s Minister of Trade, Investment and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj would look at pageants as part of the restructuring of TT’s tourism product.
He also hopes TT could host a major international pageant.
The country hosted the 1999 Miss Universe pageant at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre and US president Donald Trump, then franchise holder, attended.
On June 1, Boodhai said Nanton would be out of the country for two weeks having put aside completing her masters for the pageant.
He said the organisation would host a welcome-home ceremony for her at Piarco International Airport when she returned.
Boodhai also hopes Nanton will crown the next representative when the organisation hosts the local pageant in the last quarter of 2025.
“We would like to encourage those young women who would like to benefit from our developing programme and representing TT to get on the bandwagon and be part of this cause.
“It is a really tremendous opportunity we are creating for these young women.”
He called on communities to start identifying young women who could represent their communities and, possibly, the country.
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