Darcey Corria has made history by becoming the first woman of color to be crowned Miss Wales in the pageant’s history.
Wales is one of the countries that comprise the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The 21-year-old Corria is of mixed Welsh and Jamaican heritage.
Following her win, she told BBC News she hopes her achievement will inspire girls to “embrace their ethnicity”.
“I understand the significance and the importance of my crowning moment,” she told BBC Wales.
“I think it’s extremely important for young women living in Wales who are of mixed ethnicity or Black or Asian to feel like they are represented in every aspect of life,” she said.
“Young women, especially younger girls, will feel that there is somebody that they can relate to in the media which is something that I really struggled with when I was growing up. I really couldn’t relate to anybody,” she added.
Darcy has been actively involved in shaping anti-racism legislation in Wales. She also volunteers for the Race Equality First charity and helps women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds integrate into the community through health and fitness.
She is also a regular on marches in Wales calling for zero-tolerance against racism – even taking the lead on microphone to inspire the crowd.
“I was involved in the Black Lives Matter march a couple of years ago. There was a march against racism about three or four months ago and I actually ended up on the mic and really getting everybody rallied and involved in that and that was absolutely amazing, I felt really empowered,” she said.
Darcey Corria will represent Wales in the next Miss World pageant.
Since 1999, Wales has competed at Miss World as a separate entity due to the British devolution. However, no Miss Wales have ever won the Miss World crown.
