Animal bioscientist and brain cancer survivor Brittany Dickson, 25, is the official representative of Australia at Miss Earth 2020. It is the 20th edition of the annual international beauty pageant and it will be aired on FOXlife and TV5.

Dickson is 175cm tall. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, she has a pet parrot and she is an aspiring singer.

There are several reasons why Dickson is proud to be Australian. She describes her compatriots as strong and resilient people with a lot of heart.

To win the Miss Earth 2020 crown, Dickson has to beat 83 other candidates from all over the world. Including Australia, three countries from Oceania 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.

Australia’s candidate did not win in any of the preliminary events. Still, the Sydney native has the opportunity to win one of the four titles during the coronation night.

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.

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 Dickson wins Miss Earth 2020, she will be the beauty pageant’s first ever winner from Oceania and the third titleholder from Australia following Miss Earth-Air 2015 Dayanna Grageda, 28, and Miss Earth-Air 2017 Nina Robertson, 24. Watch Dickson’s eco-video here: