The countdown to the Miss International Turks and Caicos pageant officially began on Thursday as reigning Queen Farrah Grant welcomed international titleholders to the Turks and Caicos Islands ahead of Saturday night’s competition.
Miss International Canada 2025 Rachel Murgel, Miss International Jamaica 2025 Shante Jarrett and Miss Teen International World Tanaria Storr arrived at the Howard Hamilton International Airport on Thursday, June 26, 2026, where they received a warm welcome before attending a reception hosted by Grant at Pelican Bay in Grace Bay.
The reception marked one of Grant’s final official engagements before she crowns her successor on Saturday, bringing to a close a historic reign that saw her become the first woman to represent the Turks and Caicos Islands at the Miss International pageant.
In an interview with the TCI SUN, Grant reflected on the significance of that achievement.
“It was my greatest honour to represent my country at Miss International. I’ve always dreamed of representing my country on an international platform, and to be the first representative of the Turks and Caicos Islands at Miss International is honestly my greatest achievement.”
Grant said the experience also taught her valuable lessons about handling criticism and staying grounded while serving as a national titleholder.
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown. When you’re in the limelight or under a position like this, you are subject to a lot of opinions, people’s opinions, thoughts or whatever they want to say. You can either choose to read it and entertain it and get low and depressed about it, or you can just ignore it and keep pushing and knowing that you know who you are.”
Grant said knowing she had made an impact at her first Miss International pageant is something she will always remember.
“Not only to go and represent, but to go represent for the first time and come back with a title, meaning that I left a mark there, was definitely something that I will cherish forever.”
While her appearance on the international stage was a defining moment, Grant said the impact she had on young people at home is what she treasures most.
“I’ve had a lot of young people come up to me and message me and tell me things about how they’re doing stuff because I’ve motivated them to do it and they’ve drawn inspiration from me.”
She added: “What I wanted was for young girls to see themselves in a positive way and to push themselves more. So to see that I’ve actually done that to some extent, I think that would be my achievement.”
Grant said much of the work she is proudest of took place away from the spotlight, including mentoring students, organizing a prom dress giveaway and partnering with organizations such as the Red Cross, Rotaract and United Way Turks and Caicos.
As she prepares to hand over the crown, Grant offered advice to the woman who will become the next Miss International Turks and Caicos.
“My advice would be to understand what the legacy is that you want to leave behind and then just do everything in your power to attain that goal.”
Grant said being a queen comes with significant responsibilities and encouraged her successor to make self-care a priority.
“When you are a queen, you are a role model and you do have a lot of responsibilities. Sometimes it can be a little bit overwhelming doing all the appearances and going here and there, and people always want you to do something. So just make sure that you have time set aside each day where you check in with yourself and you decompress.”
Grant will officially pass the crown on Saturday night, June 27, when contestants compete for the Miss International Turks and Caicos title at Brayton Hall in Providenciales. The winner will earn the opportunity to represent the Turks and Caicos Islands on the international stage, succeeding Grant, who made history as the country’s first Miss International representative.
