- WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Founder of the Miss Global International/Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Contest Lachu Ramchandani (third left) with (from left) Chantal McDonald, Amoy Moulton, Miss Jamaica Global; Emma Subratie, Miss India Global; Melissa Kidd, Miss Germany Global; and Massiel Peralto, Miss Puerto Rico Global. The contest launch was held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
THE PAGEANT ambassador has spread his wings even further.
Montego Bay businessman Lachu Ramchandani is spearheading the first Miss Global International beauty pageant to be held on June 10 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The contest is the evolution of the Miss Commonwealth Beauty Pageant which Ramchandani also founded in 2004. The response and calls from countries outside the commonwealth was so huge, there just had to be a metamorphosis.
So 23 lovely ladies from as near as St. Lucia and as far as Uganda will enter the tournament with their talent, grace and, of course, their beauty. Four of the contestants were present at the launch of the competition, held at the Pegasus, New Kingston, on Wednesday night. The theme for the pageant is 'Uniting The World Through Beauty And Tourism'.
LINK TO TOURISM
Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook feels that the pageant offers a different link to tourism and will provide the chance for Jamaicans to showcase the island and ensure that tourists leave with a positive image of the country.
The ladies will have a hectic time when they arrive in Montego Bay on June 5. The next two days, they are off to Negril to visit locations such as Beaches Sandy Bay, Sandals Whitehouse (St. Elizabeth) and Negril Escape. The contestants will perform their talent pieces where the best seven or eight items will be selected for the grand final. On Thursday, June 8, they will venture to Ocho Rios where they will enjoy Dolphin's Cove and Dunn's River before heading into Kingston.
The beauties will make various courtesy calls, be hosted by some of the island's prominent businessmen and social big wigs and participate in rehearsals and grooming sessions all within a whirlwind six-day span.
