Miss Battle bows out with ambassador as replacement

Miss Battle bows out with ambassador as replacement

For the last 65 years girls have competed for the honour of being crowned Miss Battle, taking centre stage in front of thousands of spectators during the one-day summer carnival.

But the position has now been replaced, with a new role – a Jersey Battle of Flowers Ambassador – open to both men and women between the ages of 17 and 25.

And Miss Battle’s parade day partner, Mr Battle – often a celebrity who takes part in the event for a fee – has also been axed. However, organisers may still bring over a celebrity, but he or she would not have a parade title.

Explaining the changes, the show’s event director, Jackie Donald, said that the event needed to ‘evolve and refresh’ or run the risk of dying out.

‘To better reflect this ambassadorial role we took the decision to change the title from Miss Battle of Flowers and become more inclusive, therefore opening it up to a potentially larger number of people who would like this experience,’ she said.

In a press statement, organisers said that in recent years there had been a ‘steady decline in the number of female entrants’ entering the Miss Battle of Flowers competition ‘together with a misguided opinion that the event was merely a beauty competition’.

They said that public feedback showed that people wanted the role to be ‘more inclusive and opened up to both females and males’.

Mrs Donald added: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for any young Jersey person, regardless of gender, to undertake this high-profile role and enjoy a memorable year.

‘The ambassador will meet and engage with a large number of the community, attend events on behalf of Battle of Flowers both on and off the Island and lead the parades both this summer and at Christmas.’

The director added that the changes had not been made in line with other events in the UK removing women from certain promotional roles.

She added: ‘We have got to be seen to be evolving and refreshing the event. We do not want to change tradition but we need to keep up with the times.

‘If the changes do not work, then we can always go back and change it again but if we do not do anything then Battle may die.’

The role of Miss Junior Battle will also disappear, instead being replaced with a Junior Battle of Flowers Ambassador – a role open to anyone between the ages of eight and 12.

However, it is not known if the Island’s parishes will continue to run their own ‘Mr and Miss Battle’ competitions, or adopt the new format.

Anyone interested in standing for Battle Ambassador or Junior Battle Ambassador must obtain an entry form in advance by emailing jsybof@gmail.com no later than Saturday 26 May.

The competitions to choose the ambassadors will take place on 17 June.

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