Miss World to build Brand Jamaica as new ambassador
Published:Tuesday | December 24, 2019 | 12:07 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
If Theodore Bailey is to be believed, there is no more deserving a person in Jamaica to be a national ambassador than newly crowned Miss World 2019, Toni-Ann Singh, who completed a four-day visit to the island yesterday. Never mind him being partisan as her fan-crazed uncle.
“It is a great thing, and we in the family are all honoured and blessed to share in her achievements, as she continues scaling higher heights,” Bailey, himself an aspiring artiste under the moniker ‘Prince Theo’, said.
One of her most endearing attributes, Bailey told The Gleaner, is her ability to retain humility among beauty, royalty, and the average Joe.
Singh arrived in the island on Friday to a warm welcome from scores of flag-waving members of the public and was also greeted by large enthusiastic crowds on a motorcade through the streets of her home parish of St Thomas.
DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT
She was presented with her diplomatic passport by Prime Minister Andrew Holness during a courtesy call at Jamaica House on Monday.
“Toni-Ann will be able to travel the world with the blessing of her country, as well as adding value to both the Miss World Organization and Brand Jamaica,” Holness said in a tweet.
“Toni-Ann represents something special, a generation of women pushing forward to change the world. I am proud of her accomplishments and wish her a very successful and inspiring reign,” he added.
Singh became the fourth Jamaican to lift the coveted Miss World crown, following in the footsteps of Carole Joan Crawford in 1963, Cynthia ‘Cindy’ Breakspeare in 1976, and Lisa Hanna in 1993.
Bailey believes his niece is capable of even greater strides.
“She is so talented, so blessed, that I feel this is just the tip of the iceberg. Toni is a great person, who cares deeply about people and climate change. She will be a wonderful ambassador as she takes Jamaica’s name all over the world,” he said.