Miss Grand South Sudan

Miss Grand South Sudan is a national beauty pageant title conferred upon women selected to represent the Republic of South Sudan at the Miss Grand International competition.^[1][2][3][4] The title was first awarded in 2014 during the Beauties of South Sudan (B.O.S.S.) pageant, a national competition organized by former Miss World South Sudan, Atong Demach.^[5] The inaugural titleholder, Akan William, was unable to participate in the international pageant due to academic obligations related to her university studies.^[6] The affiliation between Beauties of South Sudan and the Miss Grand International organization was formally discontinued in 2018; since that time, no additional representatives from South Sudan have been appointed or sent to compete in the international contest.

South Sudan participated in the Miss Grand International pageant consecutively from 2014 to 2017. The country’s highest and only recorded achievement during this period was a Top 10 placement at the Miss Grand International 2017 competition, attained by South Sudanese-American model Eyga Mojus.^[3][7]

In 2014, the Miss Grand South Sudan franchise was acquired by Beauties of South Sudan (B.O.S.S.), a national pageant organization established in 2013. Under this framework, the principal titleholder was designated to represent South Sudan at the Miss Earth competition, while the runners-up were assigned to participate in either Miss International or Miss Grand International.^[5] During the 2014 national competition, held at Freedom Hall in Juba, Akan William, a third-year student at Uganda Christian University, was crowned Miss Grand South Sudan 2014 and was expected to represent the country at the Miss Grand International 2014 pageant in Thailand.^[5] However, she subsequently withdrew from the competition due to academic commitments,^[6] prompting the license holder to appoint a Juba-based model, Diana Stevens, as her replacement for international representation.^[8]

In 2015, following the loss of the Miss Earth franchise—attributed to the failure to send a national representative in the preceding year—Siran Samuel, the winner of Beauties of South Sudan 2014 who did not participate in Miss Earth 2014, was designated to compete in the Miss Grand International 2015 pageant.^[1] Initially, the national director, Atong Demach, had intended for Samuel to participate in Miss Earth 2015; however, the Miss Earth franchise was subsequently transferred to another domestic organizing body.^[1] In June 2015, Samuel was stripped of her Miss Grand South Sudan title,^[1] and former 2014 titleholder Akan William was reinstated and appointed as her successor.^[6]

Following the loss of the Miss Earth franchise in 2015, Beauties of South Sudan ceased organizing a national pageant. Consequently, South Sudan’s representatives to Miss Grand International were selected through direct appointment rather than competition.^[2][3] The affiliation between Beauties of South Sudan and Miss Grand International was formally terminated in 2018.

In 2023, after a five-year period of non-participation, Amylia Deng was appointed to represent South Sudan at the Miss Grand International 2023 pageant in Vietnam. However, she ultimately withdrew from the competition due to visa-related complications.^[4]

The following is a list of South Sudanese representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.

Color keys

• Diana Stevens
  Miss Grand South Sudan 2014
• Akan William
  Miss Grand South Sudan 2015
• Amylia Deng
  Miss Grand South Sudan 2023

• Media related to Miss Grand South Sudan at Wikimedia Commons