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A Jamaican model, Toni-Ann Singh (23) has been crowned Miss World and says the competition is about more than just beauty.

“To that little girl in St. Thomas, Jamaica and all the girls around the world – please believe in yourself. Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. 

“This crown is not mine but yours. You have a purpose!” Singh tweeted just after being crowned on Saturday. 

The beauty said the “biggest part of the competition” is the charity work done by winners of the beauty pageant.

For years, winners of the global competition have helped deprived communities around the world through a charity initiative called Beauty With A Purpose which was set up in 1971. More than $1bn (£750m) has been raised by the charity for causes such as treating leprosy in Brazil and providing sanitary towels in deprived Indian and African communities.

Singh was born in Morant, St. Thomas, Jamaica and is a psychology and women studies graduate of the Florida State University. Prior to the winning the pageant, she was taking a year off from school before attending medical school.

On Saturday, she earned an ovation from the audience after singing Whitney Houston’s hit “I Have Nothing”. After a round of questions from British journalist Piers Morgan she said: “I think I represent something special, a generation of women that are pushing forward to change the world.”

The two runners-up for the crown were Miss France and Miss India. This is the fourth time that a representative from Jamaica was crowned Miss World. The last time a Jamaican was crowned queen was in 1993. – CNN/BBC