Miss Bhutan

On October 10, 2008, MPC Bhutan Entertainment, a Thimphu based film production company, organized Miss Bhutan pageant and launched it first Miss Bhutan beauty pageant.^[4] The Founding President of Miss Bhutan Pageant is Karma Tshering.^[5][6]

The selection of the Miss Bhutan finalists and eventually the winner of the pageant is based on the decision of a panel of judges on the performance and physical attributes of the candidates and not by public voting system. The winner of Miss Bhutan receives a cash prize of Nu 100,000. The Miss Bhutan crown, designed in Bhutan, is worth another Nu 100,000.^[5]

In 2008, the winner represented the country at Miss Earth beauty pageant. Although there was no swimsuit round in the actual Miss Bhutan contest, the winner is trained in an enclosed area for the swimsuit competition in preparation for the international Miss Earth competition.^[5] 77 contestants from all across Bhutan registered for the Miss Bhutan 2008, but only 20 contestants were short listed in the main event after the preliminary round.^[6]

On November 9, 2008, Miss Bhutan 2008 Tsoki Tsomo Karchung participated in the 8th edition of Miss Earth beauty pageant, which was held at the Clark Expo Amphitheater in Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines.^[7][8][9] Eighty-five women arrived from October 19, 2008 in the Philippines.^[10][11] She also took part in Miss Young International in Taiwan, and Miss Safari 2008 in Kenya.^[12]

The second Miss Bhutan was held in 2010 where Sonam Choden Retty was the winner and held the title for the longest period (2010-2021)^[13]. The third edition of Miss Bhutan was held only after a decade, Tashi Choden took the title and is now the reigning queen. She is the first one in the country to represent in the Miss Universe.^[3]

Miss Bhutan was restructured in 2026, with Sangay Tsheltrim as the chairman and 'Samuh+Shangreela' as the official organizer^[14]. He announced the debut of Bhutan at Miss World 2026.^[15][16]

After a hiatus of 12 years, the Miss Bhutan pageant made a triumphant return, generating widespread excitement and attention. The event witnessed a notable surge in participation by exceptionally talented women, surpassing previous editions. Tashi Choden emerged as the victor, attaining the coveted title of Miss Bhutan 2022 and subsequently securing the historic distinction of becoming the first Bhutanese representative at the esteemed Miss Universe pageant.^[20][21] Additionally, Sonam Pelden and Eden Zangmo earned the distinctions of 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively, in the pageant.