THE criteria for the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition have been updated to make the annual pageant — a key part of the Emancipation and Independence celebrations — more inclusive and provide more young women with the opportunity to represent their community, parish, and the nation.

Traditionally, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) organises the festival queen competition for young ladies between the ages of 18 and 24. However, this year, the guidelines have been expanded to allow participants up to 30 years old, Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reported.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, in announcing the change, noted that this widening of the age requirements allows for diversity and representation from a greater number of young ladies across the island.

“This is so great for the competition. Over the years we have met many wonderful young ladies who would have been great for the competition, but when we approach them we are told they are over the age limit. So, this will help us capture these potential contestants and bring them into this strong sorority and sisterhood of festival queen contestants,” JIS said.

“The truth is a lot of potential contestants complete their tertiary education and other commitments after age 24 so this move can only yield the best results for the pageant,” Minister Grange was quoted as saying.

The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition begins annually with eliminations at the parish level, during which each parish hosts its own coronation to select a representative for the national finals. The parish queens then advance to the national stage where they compete for the prestigious title at the National Festival Queen Coronation

The current queen is Omolora Wilson from the parish of St Elizabeth.

“Over the years, the competition has showcased intelligent, culturally aware, and talented young women who have gone on to represent themselves admirably. The latest example is Aundrene Cameron, Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2023, who was recently named the Jamaica Rhodes Scholar for 2026. She is set to pursue postgraduate studies in criminology at the prestigious Oxford University in the United Kingdom,” said JIS.

Several winners of the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition have gone on to higher heights as cultural ambassadors and nation builders in their respective career fields, some of the more well known being Dahlia Harris, Jennifer “Jenny Jenny” Small and Krystal Tomlinson.