Raised in Saraburi and having to prove herself to earn the Miss LGBT Thailand 2026 crown, ‘Benz Sawaros’ calls for local Pride festivals to grow toward WorldPride.
- Benz Sawaros Namthong, Miss LGBT Thailand 2026
- The Miss LGBT Thailand platform seeks volunteer-minded beauty queens who are ready to dedicate themselves to society. Benz completed an intensive six-month selection process and programme of activities.
- As the eldest child from Saraburi, she had to show her family that living according to her identity did not diminish her worth or her ability to care for them.
- She believes equality begins with reducing prejudice and recognizing everyone’s equal human worth. She also sees the Pink Economy as an important driver of Thailand’s economy and tourism.
- She calls on the government to support Pride festivals in every province, establish them as annual local celebrations, and build a foundation for Thailand to host WorldPride.
Benz Sawaros Namthong, the titleholder of Miss LGBT Thailand 2026, represents a volunteer-minded beauty queen from a platform that looks beyond outward beauty and prize money. The pageant seeks people who are ready to dedicate themselves to social causes and advance equality in meaningful ways. Over six intensive months of selection, training, and activities, contestants must demonstrate commitment, dedication, and inner strength.
Growing up in Saraburi, Benz faced the challenge of building acceptance for gender diversity in a provincial community, where openness often develops more slowly than in a major city such as Bangkok. As the eldest child and the only son in a family with four younger sisters, she also carried her family’s expectation that she would pursue a military career or attend a military academy. Choosing to grow into her authentic self meant having to prove herself at every step. She worked to support her own education from secondary school through university and eventually became able to provide for her family with stability—showing that, regardless of her identity, she could be a good child and build a successful life like anyone else.
For Benz, the heart of a truly inclusive and equal society lies in reducing the prejudice within each person and recognizing the equal human worth of everyone. At the same time, Thailand has strong economic and tourism assets—from its food culture to the hospitality of its people. LGBTQ+ communities and the Pink Economy are among the country’s important driving forces, helping attract people from around the world.
For this reason, she calls on the government to promote and support Pride festivals in every province across Thailand and establish them as annual local celebrations, alongside provincial Red Cross fairs and other major traditional festivals. Doing so would distribute income and enrich tourism across every region, rather than concentrating opportunities only in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or Phuket. The combined strength of every sector and readiness at the local level would provide an important foundation for Thailand to step forward as a proud and capable host of WorldPride.
Rotbenz Sawaros Namthong is Miss LGBT Thailand 2026 and a volunteer-minded beauty queen from Saraburi. Drawing on her experience of proving herself to her family and society, she advocates for reducing prejudice, advancing gender equality, strengthening the Pink Economy, and expanding Pride festivals to every province as a foundation for Thailand’s path toward hosting WorldPride.