What’s next for Miss World Top 12 finalist Asia Simpson?
MANILA, Philippines — Asia Rose Simpson displayed confidence and commitment to her bid as the country’s delegate at the recent Miss World in Vietnam. She made a remarkable performance. Proof of it is her placement in the pageant’s fast-track challenges. Asia’s win at the Head to Head Challenge Asia Oceania division secured her a spot in the Top 40. Eventually, she was the pageant’s overall winner in it.
Asia breezed through the Top 40, Top 20 and Top 12, reaching the Top 2 in the Asia-Oceania continental division. Her clear, succinct and straightforward answer in the continental question-and-answer segment gave Pinoy pageant fans hope that Asia would advance to the next Top 6 final phase.
Looking back on her performance, one considers her as one of the strongest and well-rounded Philippine delegates, who raised the country’s flag well on the international stage.
This paper had a brief interview with Miss World Philippines 2026 and Miss World Top 12 finalist, who plans “to graduate high school.”
“Well, I love performing. I’m a performer. I have been since I was a little kid,” said Asia when asked if joining showbiz may be a part of her future endeavors. “As for show business, it would definitely depend on the opportunity.”
The latter should align with what she and her family want and what God wants for her, as one could glean from her answers.
Her Beauty with a Purpose (BWAP) project, SED Initiative, is also worthy to take note of Asia’s bid. It has really been a part of her life since she was young. She recalled that her parents are missionaries from the Philippines. From them and their work, she learned “the power of service, of making a difference, of connection with people, of how, like, my BWAP SED Initiative, we specifically target (address) the mental health of today’s youth through the mediums of sports and dance because as a kid, my dad taught me and my siblings dance,” shared she.
“And I realized what power it was. For me, it gave me connection to people,” added she. “It also built up confidence. It helped me with my stage presence. Because stage presence and confidence is something that you have to learn. You have to culture, really, because it’s a skill. And even with pageantry, that’s what shaped my speaking abilities as well. Every aspect of it has been shaped from a very young age.”
Now that the global pageant is over, Asia has time to reflect on the differences between national and international pageants.
“So, when you compete in the Philippines, you’re competing against Filipinos. So, you know the kind of niche that you’re in. And you know that you’re competing against very well-qualified girls,” said she. “And so, the competition is very much closer to home because it’s really concentrated on Filipinos.”
“For the international pageant, there were 111 girls… and we were split up by continents. So, in that time, it was a lot more spread out. And so, I was competing mainly against the red group, or Asia Oceania. So, I think because there were so many more girls, also the organization really cultivated an environment that allowed all of us to become a family. And so, I think, for me, both of the pageants were incredible. And they’re just very different. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. You really can’t compare them that much. But both of them were very great experiences,” added she.
As for her pieces of advice to the new batch of Filipinas who will join Miss World Philippines and the lucky one who will wear the Philippine sash to the next edition of Miss World in Tanzania, Asia said, “And my advice to the next girls who compete (is to) study up. Make sure that you know the kind of pageant that you’re going into because every pageant system is different. And so, if you think that you’re an alumna (a graduate) from a different pageant system, it’s a whole new world if you go into Miss World… So, you have to know your niche. You have to know what pageant system you’re studying for.”
Apart from studying the previous winners and editions and the fast-track challenges, Asia shared that girls should “be prepared to be away from home for a long time” and “be prepared for early mornings and late nights.” Participating in a pageant also means endurance. She said that it was a long game and one had to be consistent all throughout the competition.
As for her strategy, Asia said, “My strategy was to do well in every single fast track because we knew that the fast track was a big part of the competition. So, to do well in every single one would mean I would be in a better position to be at.”
Since she is still young, Asia may consider joining another pageant after two or three years. Many would love to see her again represent the country.
“The support of the Filipinos is really overwhelming, and it’s so heartwarming. So, thank you guys already for the support that you’re giving me. If there is a future pageant that I join, I know that you’ll be behind me because you’ve already shown up in that capacity,” said she. “But as for right now, I have no plans yet. But who knows, maybe in a couple of years I’ll be back at it again.”
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