Miss Grand International 2021

Miss Grand International 2021 was the ninth edition of the Miss Grand International pageant, held on 4 December 2021 at the Show DC hall, Show DC Mega Complex in Bangkok, Thailand. Contestants from fifty-nine countries and territories competed for the title, of whom an International Hotel and Restaurant Management-graduated representing Vietnam, Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên, was announced the winner. Thùy Tiên was crowned by the predecessor Abena Appiah of the United States and received a cash of 60,000 USD as a reward. Meanwhile, the first to fourth vice-miss titles was awarded to the representatives of Ecuador, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and South Africa, respectively.

The pageant grand final round was hosted by a Thai television personality Matthew Deane and was streamed live worldwide via Miss Grand International's GrandTV YouTube Channel. In addition, Indonesia was officially announced to be the host for Miss Grand International 2022.

Location and date
On 31 August 2021, the Miss Grand International organization publicize the promoted media on their social platforms citing that the grand final of the 9th Miss Grand International will take place in Phuket, Thailand, on 4 December 2021, while the ancillary events will be commenced prior, including; the national costume parade, the swimwear competition, and the preliminary round. All such events are set to launch after the registration date, which is scheduled for 17 November. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in Phuket caused all convention centers and theaters in the province, which once had the potential to host the important event, to be abandoned, and suffered a facility shortage. As a result, the organizer inevitably decided to reschedule most of the main events except the swimming suit competition, to be held in Bangkok instead.

Later on 6 October 2021, the organization additionally detailed the schedule of the preliminary activities on the island of Phuket as well as the main event in Bangkok; however, some ancillary activities was cancelled due to the opposing political views between the organizer and the pro-military government local community; which caused the application for property use was revoked. The local government also declined to facilitate the event arrangement in the province.

Selection of participants
Of all fifty-nine participating candidates, only sixteen were determined through the Miss Grand national pageants, including Cambodia, Chile, Belgium, Ecuador, France, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nicaragua, South Korea, Spain, Malaysia, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Northern Ireland, and United States, while the representatives of Albania, England, Kosovo, Scotland, and Wales, who were also elected through the Miss Grand national pageants, did not enter the international contest for unknown reasons.

Three countries, the Dominican Republic, Mauritius, and Germany, sent their other pageant's main winner to compete. The remaining candidates were either appointed or obtained the title as a supplemental award at other national pageants, such as Manika Sheokhand of India, who was named Miss Grand India 2021 after finishing as the first runner-up in Femina Miss India 2020.

Initially, seventy-one contestants confirmed their participation but twelve withdrew, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the original representatives of Argentina, Germany, Japan, Liberia, Nigeria, Panama, and Russia, were replaced by their runners-up or the appointed candidates after the resignation, dethronement, or changing of national licensee.

Pageant format
Based on all accumulated scores, which included the scores from the preliminary round, the closed-door interviews, and other pageant activities, determined the twenty semifinalists who advanced to compete at the sportswear competition, in which the final nine finalists were elected. Eventually, nine semi-finalists, including the winner of the Miss Popular vote which was determined through public voting, completed the top ten and competed in the long gown, and the speech competitions. Afterward, the five finalists were chosen who then qualified for the question-and-answer round, where the winner and all four runners-up were determined.

Placements
§ – Voted into the Top 10 by viewers

Contestants
Fifty-nine contestants competed for the title.

Vietnam / Thailand controversy
During the speech round of the top 10 finalists, Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên of Vietnam, said in Thai: Make the world a better place for everyone, while raising a pro-democracy three-finger salute. This displeased supporters of the Thai military government, who presented letters of protest to the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok. They said that her action interfered with Thai internal affairs, as the Constitutional Court of Thailand had determined that using this three-finger salute supported the overthrow of the Thai regime. Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond, causing some Thai government groups to state that they should take action and remind Thùy Tiên to refrain from making any statements that may affect Thailand–Vietnam relations.

Radio Free Asia reported that Thùy Tiên's speech with the pro-democracy three-finger salute had been censored by the Vietnamese government. After her win, Thùy Tiên received much public support for her action as seen in the Vietnamese media, but most was quickly removed, no longer accessible, or the detail unmentioned. In many press-release videos, this section of the contest was also removed.