In an unprecedented decision, Toni-Ann Singh will reign as Miss World for a second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making her the first titleholder to ever do so. Julia Morley, Miss World CEO, told the local franchise holder, Crown of Beauty, about the decision to cancel this year’s pageant and extend Singh’s reign.
The finals for the 70th Miss World Pageant will be conducted during the latter part of 2021. The host and venue for the next event is currently being finalized and will be announced in the near future. Numerous considerations went into the decision to cancel the event, primary of which was safety. With no vaccine currently available and shutdowns affecting economies around the world, it would be extremely difficult to scout pageant candidates.
Singh is the fourth Jamaican to win the Miss World title and was crowned in London on Dec. 14, 2019. She was chosen from among a field of 111 contestants, with Miss France placing second and Miss India coming in third. Singh joins fellow countrywomen to earn the title that includes Carole Joan Crawford (1963), Cindy Breakspeare (1976), and Lisa Hanna (1993).
Though her activities have been curtailed during her reign due to the pandemic, Singh designated her support to the Women’s Centre Foundation in her native St. Thomas parish as her special focus of interest. The organization assists teen mothers with continuing education after giving birth.
Singh was born in Morant Bay, Jamaica, and immigrated to Florida in the U.S. when she was age nine. She impressed judges during the talent portion of the Miss World competition by performing her rendition of Whitney Houston’s hit “I Have Nothing.” It’s a talent she’s been using since she first started singing in the choir of Andrew’s Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kingston, Jamaica. At the end of her reign as Miss World, Singh has plans to enter medical school.
