3 days ago
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The road to crowning Jamaica’s next global queen, following reigning representative Keri-Ann Greenwood’s first-runner-up finish at the 2025 Miss Global competition, officially began on December 21 with the launch of Miss Global Jamaica 2026 at Footprints Café on Belmont Road, Kingston. The venue was packed with supporters, sponsors, and pageant enthusiasts. Amid cheers from the audience, the 26 hopefuls gave their best, confidently showcasing their personalities, talents, and poise, signalling their enthusiasm to represent Jamaica on the international stage.
The evening also marked the official sashing and presentation of the contestants and the formal launch of the franchise under its new leadership. Jermane Blair, franchise holder and national director of Miss Global Jamaica, described the night as a proud and defining moment for the competition.
“The showing tonight was about launching Miss Global Jamaica under new leadership and introducing our contestants for the first time,” Blair shared. “This year’s theme is ‘Empower, Embrace, Embody’. It’s about empowerment, embracing authenticity, and embodying what it truly means to be a queen. I’m so proud of the ladies who took the stage tonight, and did well, and the show was absolutely amazing.”
Blair noted that the calibre of this year’s field makes the selection process both exciting and challenging. “Every queen is unique,” he explained. “We have a number of contestants in the competition this year that is making it tough to select, which is good. Beautiful and intelligent women who truly embody what it means to be a queen, are fighting hard for the win. Once that winner is chosen, the training that our [current] queen, Keri-Ann, received will be the same training these ladies will receive; so we can only hope that they will go on that international stage and represent accordingly again.”
The launch also offered a glimpse of what lies ahead in the competition’s calendar. Blair revealed several key events, including a sponsors’ mingle at the BYD showroom at the AC Hotel Kingston, an upcoming fashion show, and the grand coronation on January 24 at the Wolmer’s Boys’ School Auditorium. On coronation night, the winner will be crowned Miss Global Jamaica 2026 and earn the honour of representing Jamaica at Miss Global in Bali, Indonesia
The strong turnout at the launch did not go unnoticed. Blair expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support from the audience, while also candidly addressing the challenges faced by pageants in Jamaica.
“The support tonight was great, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who came out to support the sashing of our queens,” he said. “However, what we find is that we have challenges getting sponsorships of pageants. Pageants are about empowering our women, and those women go into Jamaica and make a difference. They influence change, they impact altruism, and they are impacting lives not just across the island, but across the world. We need the support to continue to empower these women, so that they can continue their work.”
He also took the opportunity to thank the sponsors already on board, acknowledging their role in making the competition possible.
With confidence and conviction, Blair extended an open invitation to Jamaicans islandwide: “We have a really great show planned for the Miss Global Jamaica Final, and we’re inviting everyone to come out to Wolmer’s Boys’ [School]. Let’s sell out all the tickets, so that we can have a grand show on January 24.”
English (US) ·