Miss Grand Kenya is a national beauty pageant title awarded to Kenyan representatives competing at the Miss Grand International pageant.[1][2][3][4] The title was first mentioned in 2013 when a national finalist of Miss World Kenya 2012, Pauline Akwacha, was assigned by the pageant organizer directed by Andy Abulime, Beauties of Africa Inc., to compete at the inaugural edition of Miss Grand International in Thailand.[1]
![]() Elaine Mwangi, Miss Grand Kenya 2015 | |
Formation | 2013 |
---|---|
Type | Beauty pageant |
Headquarters | Nairobi |
Location | |
Membership | Miss Grand International |
Official language | English |
National director | Tanveen Lonez (2024 – Present) |
Parent organization |
|
Since the first competition in 2013, Kenyan representatives have never been placed in Miss Grand International.[5][6][7]
History
editSince the establishment of Miss Grand International, Kenya has occasionally sent representatives to compete. In 2013, based majorly on past modeling experiences such as television commercials, advertisements, and understanding of the beauty pageant, a Nairobi resident model and Miss World Kenya 2012 finalist Pauline Akwacha was chosen by Andy Abulime's Beauties of Africa Inc to represent the country at the inaugural edition of Miss Grand International in Thailand; making her the first Kenyan to compete at the mentioned international contest.[1] However, she received non-placements.[5]
After an absence in 2014, the license was purchased by Tony Chirah, the director of Miss Kenya, and the Miss Grand Kenya titleholder for this particular year was determined through such a pageant as the supplementary title,[8] while the main winner was sent to Miss Earth 2015.[2][8] However, the contract was discontinued the following year, and no Kenyan representative in Miss Grand International from 2016 to 2019.
In 2020, Miss Africa 2019 winner Irene Mukii purchased the license and subsequently dominated herself to compete at that year's edition in Thailand,[3][9] and reached Top 20 in the pageant finals.[7] After that, the license has not been acquired by any other Kenyan pageant-related organ.
Edition
editThe following is the competition detail of the Miss Grand Kenya pageant, which was expected to be held for the first time in August 2024.[10][11]
Edition | Date | Final venue | Entrants | Result | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1st runner-up | 2nd runner-up | |||||
1st | August 31, 2024 | Delight Africa Hall, Nairobi | 14 | TBD | [10][11] |
Representative at Miss Grand International
editThe following is a list of Kenyan representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.
Year | Representative | Original national title | Competition performance | Licensee | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Placement | Other awards | ||||
2013 | Pauline Akwacha[1] | Top 10 finalist Miss World Kenya 2012[1] | Unplaced[5] | — | Andy Abulime[1] |
2014 | Did not compete | ||||
2015 | Elaine Mwangi[2][12] | Miss Grand Kenya 2015[2] | Unplaced[6] | — | Tony Chirah[8] |
Did not compete between 2016-2019 | |||||
2020 | Irene Ng'endo[3][13] | Miss Africa 2019[14] | Top 20[7] | — | Irene Ng'endo[9] |
Did not compete between 2021-2023 | |||||
2024 | TBA | Miss Grand Kenya 2024 | TBA | TBA | Tanveen Lonez |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Maureen Odiwuor (2014). "Beauty Beyond Skin". The Standard. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Stevens Muendo (2015). "Miss University beauty queen fails to impress at Miss Kenya Earth". Tha Standard. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c Arniel C. Serato (March 4, 2021). "Two Miss Grand International candidates test positive for COVID-19" (in Tagalog). Philippines Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Justin Coulibaly (March 5, 2021). "Miss Grand Kenya et celle du Nigeria testées positives au Coronavirus". www.afrik.com (in French). Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c Harry Rodríguez (November 18, 2013). "Janelee Chaparro se corona Miss Grand International 2013". www.metro.pr (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lệ Quyên bất ngờ "trắng tay" tại Miss Grand International 2015". Dantri.com.vn (in Vietnamese). October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Samantha Bernardo makes it to Top 20 of Miss Grand International!". GMA Network. March 27, 2021. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c Elly Gitau (June 21, 2015). "Miss Kenya franchise to plant 10 million trees". The Star. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "2 candidates of Miss Grand International test positive for coronavirus". ABS-CBN. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Miss Grand Kenya Gala Night". event.talksasa.com. 2024. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ a b "Miss Grand Kenya 2024". africavotes.com. July 2024. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Steven Kisuli Muendo (2016). "Former beauty queen beaten". Tha Standard. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "ส่งเสริมความร่วมมือด้านการท่องเที่ยวผ่านการสร้างความตระหนักรู้ระหว่างกัน / Tourism promotion through mutually awareness raising" (in Thai). Royal Thai Embassy in Nairobi. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Ada Wodu (December 28, 2019). "Kenyan, Irene Mukii, crowned Miss Africa 2019". The Punch. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
External links
edit- Media related to Miss Grand Kenya at Wikimedia Commons