Miss Continental celebrated its 45th anniversary with a very special night.See on InstagramOver the years, the Miss Continental pageant established itself as one of the biggest platforms that a drag queen can be a part of in order to grow as an entertainer. Since the very first edition in 1980 won by the late, great Chilli Pepper to the latest Miss Continental 2026 competition that crowned Gadfrie Arbulu, this pageant system has been turning queens into global superstars and it keeps growing year after year.The final night of Miss Continental 2026, which took place on Monday, September 1, went all out to celebrate 45 years of Continental. To do so, the event brought back past winners like Brooke Lynn Hytes, Mimi Marks, Zhan Dawlingz, Shantell D'Marco, Maya Douglas, Tiffany T. Hunter, and others who all delivered special performances on the stage. Dina Jacobs, who was named an Honorary Miss Continental, also did a special number that held the entire audience in the palm of her hand.This year's contestants also played a huge role on the show, obviously, as they walked the runway looking beautiful and also delivered talent numbers that helped the judges and the fans getting to know them even better. The night came to an end with an emotional step-down number from Raquell Cuffee, but also with the joyous crowning of Gadfrie Arbulu.Keep scrolling to check out 13 moments that had us gagging while watching Miss Continental 2026.Brooke Lynn Hytes's hot and wild performance to 'Eaten Alive' by Diana Ross.See on InstagramSince winning Miss Continental in 2014, Brooke Lynn Hytes competed on RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 (finishing as runner-up) and went on to host the entire Canada's Drag Race series thus far. She is one of the pageant system's biggest stars, and this performance to "Eaten Alive" Diana Ross was a great reminder to anyone who's forgotten that she's a brilliant lip sync artist.Lila Starr's talent number honoring several past winners.It's always a risk, under any competitive setting, when a contestant chooses to pull references from the competition itself in a performance that is meant to showcase that person as an individual. Nonetheless, Lila Starr totally showed audiences the entertainer that she is while also honoring the long history of iconic Continental winners. One moment in this talent number showcased a series of frames revealing the faces of several past winners as Lila went down the list and named each of them. "Czanne, Yoshiko, Tandi, Erica, Maya, Chanel, Catiria, Monica, Dana, Sasha, Mimi, Tulsi, Tommie, Van Cartier, Sunny Dee, Chili P.," she listed in the song.Zhan Dawlingz's romantic performance to a Beyonc medley.See on InstagramZhan Dawlingz won Miss Continental 2025 and has been growing her career in significant ways despite having own the pageant pretty recently. Though she is a powerhouse vocalist and had one of the most undeniably fantastic talent numbers in recent Continental history, Dawlingz returned to the Miss Continental 2026 stage with a back-to-basics lip sync performance to a medley of Beyonc songs.Lana Luxx's talent number as Taylor Swift performing at The Eras Tour.In the pantheon of queens like Chad Michaels (impersonating Cher) and Derrick Barry (impersonating Britney Spears), Lana Luxx's talent number wasn't just the embodiment of Taylor Swift but a very specific version of Taylor Swift in her victory-lap era during The Eras Tour. Honestly? The average person watching this on a screen could conceivably just believe that this was actually Taylor Swift performing at Miss Continental. That's how amazing this was.Dina Jacobs's special performance to 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' (Sunset Blvd).See on InstagramSunset Blvd just had a pop-culture resurgence from the Nicole Scherzinger-led Broadway production that won the actress a Tony Award and was best known for its performance of "As If We Never Said Goodbye."Dina Jacobs, the first runner-up in the first-ever Miss Continental pageant (1980), was honored with the title of Honorary Miss Continental this year And seemingly took to that stage with the mission to show fans exactly why she deserved the title. This particular performance of Sunset Blvd from Jacobs must be remembered and canonized as one of the most powerful drag performances of all time to a Broadway show tune. One can literally feel goosebumps just thinking about it again.Tina Twirler Ross's talent number as Kitana (Mortal Kombat).Tina Twirler Ross unfortunately didn't qualify for the final night of Miss Continental 2026, but that doesn't mean that her gag-worthy talent number in the preliminary night should be forgotten. Ross really gave us the head-to-toe Kitana (Mortal Kombat) fantasy while performing to high-energy songs and pulling all the stops to make this an unforgettable moment. She absolutely accomplished that mission, if you're asking us, and seems like a queen that fans should keep an eye on.Mimi Marks. Period.See on InstagramThe stunning and showstopping Mimi Marks Miss Continental 1992 titleholder returned to the Continental stage for a special performance of "Uninvited" by the Freemasons and featuring Bailey Tzuke. Though it is possible to describe the history, the stage presence, and the beauty of Mimi Marks, a performance like this certainly speaks louder than words.Alexis Mateo's tribute to the late Jasmine International.See on InstagramIn case you didn't know, Alexis Mateo is the current reigning Miss Continental Elite 2025. The "Elite" layer is a competition for queens over a certain age even though Mateo is still rather young as a human being. Either way, it was very telling, and beautiful, to see Mateo using this moment, this title, and this stage not only to showcase her own talents as a lip sync artist, but to honor her dear friend Jasmine International, who passed away just a month ago, as the LGBTQ+ community is still mourning the loss of such a special performer and pioneer that left us way too early.Gadfrie Arbulu's talent number to 'Big Spender' (Sweet Charity).Is "Big Spender" (Sweet Charity) a drag staple that can very easily come off as repetitive? Yes. Did Gadfrie Arbulu exceed every expectation and gave us an exhilarating take on the song during this lip sync that had audiences and judges begging for more? Also yes. Despite the caliber of queens competing on this year's Continental, Arbulu somehow still managed to blow us all away.Maya Douglas's dazzling performance to 'Do You Want It Right Now' by Siedah Garrett.See on InstagramThe Miss Continental pageant had its very first edition in 1980, and Maya Douglas (1985 winner) is one of the OG queens at a time when this competition was still establishing itself in the world. For Douglas to come back 40 years later and perform a high-energy number "Do You Want It Right Now" by Siedah Garrett while showing plenty of skin and dancing with hot dancers all around her Legendary behavior, to be honest.Raquell Cuffee's majestic step-down performance.See on InstagramRaquell Cuffee is a truly impressive lip sync performer who had a marvelous year as the reigning Miss Continental 2025. Her step-down appearances at this year's event were all great moments, but this final performance truly, deeply emotional for Cuffee and audience members really illustrated how beloved this queen really is.Tiffany T. Hunter's epic return.See on InstagramTiffany T. Hunter, the crowned winner of Miss Continental 2015, had a triumphant return to the stage showing that her recovering process from ongoing medical issues is going well, even though donations to help her in this recovery journey are still being accepted via GoFundMe.Gadfrie Arbulu's joyous crowning as the winner of Miss Continental 2026.See on InstagramShe did it, and no one can take that away from her! Going into the competition, Gadfrie Arbulu was one of a few contestants who carried themselves with a certain "Miss Continental winner" energy. That said, no one had expected just how dominating she would be throughout both nights of the competition. After the preliminaries, Arbulu won three of four awards Best Swimsuit, Best Evening Gown, and Best Talent. She sustained that momentum in the final night, and ultimately won Miss Continental 2026. Her crowning, surrounded by friends and fans, had them all screaming with pride and joy.