The Miss Hibiscus Festival is back after a five-year hiatus, Hibiscus Standing Committee chairperson Opetaia Ravai announced.
Speaking at the 2024 Miss Hibiscus launch yesterday at Albert Park, he said the week-long festival was set to begin on Saturday, August 31 to Saturday, September 7 at the refurbished Sukuna Park and the Suva Foreshore.
“The slogan, ‘Where beauty blooms, Suva shines’ perfectly encapsulates the essence of this celebration,” he said.
“We’re looking at a minimum of 10 queen contestants, but we’re hoping other businesses will be interested in sponsoring a queen so after this, we’ll start putting up notices for expression of interest.
Interested businesses have been encouraged to contact the Hibiscus committee.”
He said this year would place more focus on the queen contestants and bring back the spirit of festivity and glamour compared with past years where the festival was deemed too commercialised.
“You’ll be surprised at where we will be putting the stalls. If there’s any road closure, we’ll announce it in due course.”
Meanwhile, Suva City Council special administrators chairman Tevita Boseiwaqa said Sukuna Park should be completed before the end of June.
“About 10 or five per cent that is left requires good weather,” he said. “So definitely, Sukuna Park will be completed before June ends, and then a date will be set for its opening.”
