General News
8 July, 2026
Shining on world stage
MISSION Beach’s Victoria Letheby is preparing to step onto one of the world’s most glittering stages, representing Australia in the finals at the prestigious Coast to Coast International Pageant in New Jersey, USA from 23-26 July.
She will join 325 entrants from across the globe, all vying for titles across multiple age groups and the coveted overall crown.
Ms Letheby earned her place on the international stage after the Australian finals in August 2025, where she was one of just six women selected and the only Queenslander, alongside entrants from Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.
The long running event, now in its 27th year, welcomes competitors aged from youngsters to 60-plus, with a strong focus on community involvement, charity work and personal development rather than appearance or size.
“It’s not about height, shape or hair colour,” Ms Letheby said. “Pageants are uplifting, build self-confidence and provide a wonderful way to learn valuable life skills. I encourage anyone who’s interested to give it a go,” she said.
Proudly representing Australia, Queensland and especially Far North Queensland, Ms Letheby will compete in four judged categories: formal wear, on stage interview, coast to coast wear and national wear. She will also enter five optional categories in the 30-39 age division.
Her national wear costume, designed and created entirely by hand is a showstopper. The overskirt is lined with blue satin and fitted with lights, with one side depicting the Southern Cross and the other the Milky Way. The exterior features her hand painted images of Uluru, an ANZAC soldier, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a cassowary and a crocodile, a labour of love that took 400 hours. The long sleeved leotard, shaped like the Australian flag, is hand sewn and adorned with more than 90,000 red, white and blue gemstones.
Ms Letheby, 39, was born in Adelaide and moved to Queensland in 2012 before settling in Mission Beach over a year ago.
While she has long had a passion for pageants, her interest in pageants which support charitable causes was sparked in 2019 during Broken Hill’s Agfair, where she met School of the Air students and people with disabilities working on a lavender farm.
Away from the pageant stage, Ms Letheby is known as a real life ‘Wonder Woman,’ regularly participating in fun runs in Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Townsville and Cairns, as well as local events.
She is also part of United Heroes of the World, a super-hero themed group that attends community events all over the country to bring joy to children.
Her pageant experience includes two Miss World competitions in 2005 and 2008, and in 2024, while touring with Dean Vegas Tours, she won the overall title at the Exquisite Shining Light Pageant in Northern Ireland, her first international event which raised awareness and funds for mental health.
Ms Letheby leaves tomorrow for the USA.
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