Idil Bilgen wins Miss Turkey 2024 amid controversy

Young Turkish lady “Idil Bilgan” won Miss Turkey 2024, sparking debate on social media and in local media about her eligibility.

At a ceremony on Wednesday night in Istanbul, the jury of the private Miss Turkey pageant selected the young lady Idil to win the title this year against 19 other competitors.

Among the beauty queens, models, and businesswomen on the jury were Miss Turkey 2014 and Amine Gulse, the wife of German football star Mesut Ozil, who is of Turkish descent.

Many bloggers felt that Idil was not the most attractive of the twenty participants, while others hinted at or accused the jury of being swayed by the fact that her father was a Turkish ambassador to one of the participating nations. These reactions to the jury’s choice were not uniform.

A different team shared images of the new beauty queen, taken outside of the competition, to support their argument that she is stunning.

Idil, who is twenty-four years old and is eighty centimeters tall, graduated from the private Turkish University of Koç’s Faculty of Medicine.

The young lady who wins will compete in the Miss World pageant in early 2025, representing Turkey.

Turkish nationals between the ages of 18 and 30 who had never married or had children were among the requirements to compete.