The event had been due to take place in December, but was postponed at the last minute after several contestants tested positive for COVID-19, Poland PAP news agency reported.
In solidarity with Ukraine and its people battling the Russian invasion, the 40 finalists in Puerto Rico walked across the stage holding candles, according to news outlets.
When the winner of the 70th edition of the global beauty pageant was announced, it was the 23-year-old business student and model from the central Polish city of Łódź who took the accolade, the Polish state news agency reported.
Visibly moved, Bielawska tearfully received the crown from the previous Miss World, Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh, it was reported.
She told reporters she had been “shocked” to hear her name read out as the winner of the contest.
The Pole also said that it was “an honour” to be crowned Miss World and that she "couldn’t wait to get down to work."
The new Miss World said she would remember the "amazing" pageant "for the rest of my life."
It is the second Miss World title for Poland, after Aneta Kręglicka was named the most beautiful woman on the planet in 1989, according to the PAP news agency.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP