Melikyan Yeranuhi, 28, is the official representative of Armenia at Miss Earth 2020. It is the 20th edition of the annual international beauty pageant and it will be aired on FOXlife and TV5.

Melikyan is 177cm tall. She was named after her grandmother, who she described as a strong, purposeful and independent woman.

There are several reasons why Melikyan is proud to be Armenian. Among these are the bravery and dedication of her compatriots to their homeland despite the war they are dealing with.

To win the Miss Earth 2020 crown, Melikyan has to beat 83 other candidates from all over the world. Including Armenia, a total of 17 countries from Asia are represented.

The competition started on September 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reigning Miss Earth 2019 Nellys Pimentel, 23, of Puerto Rico will crown her successor through a virtual coronation night hosted by British journalist James Deakin, 48, who is based in the Philippines.

Like in the 19 previous editions, the three runners-up will also have titles. These are Miss Earth-Air 2020, Miss Earth-Water 2020 and Miss Earth-Fire 2020.

Prior to the coronation night, the candidates participated in the national costume competition, the evening gown competition, the swimsuit competition, the resort wear competition, the sports wear competition and the talent competition. The candidates were divided into four continental group namely Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe and the Americas.

A Eurasian country, Armenia was included in the Europe group. In this group, Melikyan won silver in the national costume competition.

This is the first time Miss Earth is held virtually. All of the 19 previous editions were held in the Philippines except for the 10th and 15th editions, which were held in Vietnam and Austria, respectively.

Among the 19 Miss Earth titleholders, six are from Asia. They are Karla Henry, 34, Jamie Herrell, 26, Angelia Ong, 30, and Karen Ibasco, 29, of the Philippines, Nicole Faria, 30, of India and Nguyễn Phương Khánh, 25, of Vietnam.

Founded on April 3, 2001 and headquartered in the Philippines, Miss Earth promotes environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. It is one of the top four international beauty pageants along with Miss International, Miss World and Miss Universe.

If Melikyan wins a title at Miss Earth 2020, she will be the beauty pageant’s first ever titleholder from Armenia. Watch her eco-video here: