FALMOUTH, Trelawny After a one-year hiatus, the Miss Global International pageant is set for the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, on September 28.

The coronation show for the local leg, Miss Global Jamaica, will be held at Courtleigh auditorium in Kingston on June 29.

The announcement was made by conceptualiser and pageant chairman Lachu Ramchandani during the media launch of the event at the Royalton White Sands Beach Hotel in Trelawny last week Wednesday.

Ramchandani said last year’s break after a 14-year run was to facilitate preparation for the event’s grand staging this year.

He told the gathering that 13 countries have already signalled their intention to participate in this year’s staging of the pageant.

“We are going all out, I am feeling good about it, and we are expecting between 35 and 40 countries to participate this year,” added a confident Ramchandani.

According the pageant chairman, the event which started as Miss Commonwealth in 2004, has seen participants for a host of countries across the world including Kuwait, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, Australia and Myanmar.

“We have touched about 75 countries since we stated in 2004,” Ramchandani emphasised.

He noted that Miss Commonwealth evolved into Miss Global International after an overwhelming interest from females outside Commonwealth countries. He explained that he was quick to entertain non-Commonwealth contestants, and changed the name, especially as he was using the contest to enhance the tourism industry. Since then, Miss Global International has been held outside of Jamaica on three occasions: the United Kingdom in 2008; Trinidad and Tobago in 2014; and Santo Domingo the following year.

Ramchandani has long highlighted the pageant’s contribution to Jamaica’s economy, stressing that the non-profit event helps to boost the island’s tourism sector.

Regional director at the Jamaica Tourist Board Odette Dyer in her remarks lauded the organisers of the event.

“At the Ministry of Tourism we welcome this kind of initiative as it helps to showcase brand Jamaica to the world. Through the several activities that the contestants will participate in from Negril to Kingston, they will be able to spread the word about the beauty of our country and undoubtedly our cuisine,” she argued.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett in a recorded audio visual, also endorsed the pageant, stressing its contribution to the island’s tourism sector.

Participants this year will compete for the coveted Miss Global International title, as well as over $3 million in cash and prizes.

One of the contestants too, will also get a chance to participate in the Miss Continent pageant, scheduled for Ecuador in September.

The pageant is being staged under the theme: ‘Uniting the World through Beauty and Tourism.’