At such a young age, Drita Ziri accomplished something that no Albanian has ever done: win a Big5 crown. It is indeed a major feat and it is of little wonder why she is considered as an icon in her country. Albania is not exactly a beauty superpower nor it is pageant crazy nation. It began participating at major international pageants only in 2002. You might see Albania appearing on the semifinals of Miss Universe however, none of them progressed beyond the Top 10.
The victory of Drita Ziri could be fully attributed to her beauty and brains. She doesn’t have a sash weight to back her up. The market for pageants in Albania is relatively minuscule and there is no solid pageant infrastructure that can support her. Drita Ziri won the crown simply because she stood out from the rest.
