Miss Grand International was founded in 2013 by Nawat Itsaragrisil, a Thai television host and producer. The pageant was founded in Thailand amidst a political crisis, inspiring the organizers to use the slogan "No mob, Stop the Wars" as part of its identity, later rephrased to "Stop the War and Violence" in the following year. The pageant aims to promote peace by being against all kinds of conflicts.
Miss Grand International, also known as Miss Grand, is an international beauty pageant franchise that is based in Thailand. It consists of the annual national pageant Miss Grand Thailand, as well as the international competition Miss Grand International, to which participating rights are licensed to organizers in other countries. The franchise has been owned and run by a Thai stock exchange-listed company with the same name, also known as MGI PCL, since its inception in 2013, with Nawat Itsaragrisil as the president.
The pageant has primarily been focusing on humanitarian issues with the reigning titleholders dedicating their year to work as the organization's spokesperson as well as involved in the charity events related to the said campaigns. For instance, corresponding with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to raise funds available for humanitarian aid, visiting and donated necessities to the internally displaced people in the refugee camps, being the guest speaker at the related events and act as the ambassador of the NGOs (e.g., Catholic Medical Mission Board, Model United Nations), or taking part in any projects of the local charitable organization in the visited countries. Before 2021, the winner of the contest, together with all runners-up, often serve as the campaigners of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, to promote the tourism industry of the pageant-based country.
During the years 2013 to 2015, Miss Grand International took place in Bangkok, where a local television station called Channel 7 and Asian media from countries such as Indonesia covered the event. It also had the important sponsorship of Thai companies and corporations such as G-Herb, Canol Hospital, Ramsita, Vanissa Clinic, Nusasiri, among others.
For 2016, the contest moves for the first time outside Thai territory, and the city of Las Vegas in the United States is the center of the contest; for this purpose the television company Vietface TV realized the relevance of the contest and assumes the rights of broadcasting for users of DirecTV in the United States in conjunction with the broadcast simultaneous to Thailand via Channel 7; also for the first time it is broadcast live via Facebook live from the social network Facebook.
In 2017, Vietnam hosts the competition as its venue, and the first edition is broadcast in high definition.
The contest features contestants selected by licensees in each country. Its first three competitions were held in Thailand under the sponsorship of the country's government and televised worldwide via Channel, while subsequent events have also taken place overseas, and was broadcast via the local television channels together with the social media platforms including its official YouTube channel and Facebook page.
In 2019, the pageant was being held in Venezuela amid the country's political crisis; several candidates withdrew from the competition due to security concerns and visa regulation problems, such as South Korea, Cambodia, and Laos. Later in 2020, the pageant was also scheduled to be held in Venezuela on 25 October but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed to 2021 and the venue was moved to Bangkok, Thailand.
On December 4, 2025. Miss Grand International announced of the first-ever MGI All Stars
Logo of Miss Grand International
In 2013, the logo of Miss Grand - โThe Woman with a Starโ - was born, representing the beauty and responsibility of women around the world who promote peace; this logo was born when the MGIO was formed, the next year it changed. The woman with the star is a female figure in long, thin dress, looking to the right and up, lifting up his right arm which, with his hand open, receives the star; his left arm rests on his hip. The woman wears a small crown and the whole around is illustrated with sparkles of silver color.
The current logo imposed in 2014, represents a female figure in a long, thin dress that looks to the front, lifting the right arm which holds a band that has implanted the acronym MGI in capital letters. The outline of the figure is also adorned with silver sparkles, as is the logo used in 2013.
