Cook Islands will miss the Pacific Islands pageant contest for the second consecutive year after pulling out of the 2024 event to be held in Nauru next month.

The Cook Islands will once again miss the Pacific Islands pageant, scheduled for February 3-4 in Nauru.

The Miss Cook Islands Association and its secretary, Rohan Ellis, said they were contacted by the organising committee to support the 2024 Miss Pacific Islands pageant with a Miss Cook Islands delegate.

However, Ellis confirmed they wouldn’t be participating, citing scheduling conflicts with their own 2024 pageant planned for preparing representatives for Miss World and Miss International later in the year.

“Unfortunately, timing of our 2024 pageant has not been favourable for participation at immediate pageants like MPI (Miss Pacific Islands),” he said.

Ellis previously emphasised the need for careful planning and sponsor partnerships to organise a professional pageant offering a valuable development programme for contestants to ready themselves for the big stage.

The Miss Pacific Islands pageant was revived in 2023 after the Covid-19 hiatus. Cook Islands did not participate in the 2023 event.

Tajiya Sahay, crowned Miss Cook Islands in October 2019, currently holds the title. Sahay was also crowned Miss World Oceania 2019 in London, England on December 14, 2019.

Cook Islands boasts eight previous Miss Pacific Islands winners, including Teuira Napa (2013), Joyanna Mennie Meyer (2010), Krystina Kauvai (2006), Dorothea George (2005), Janice Nicholas (2003), Liana Scott (1999), Tarita Brown (1994), and Kimiora Vogel (1991).