Two delegates share 2026 National Carnival Queen Title in St. Lucia

St. Lucia: For the first time in the history of the National Carnival Queen Pageant, Miss Bank of Saint Lucia, Nyaley Lewis, and Miss Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Faith Edward, have been jointly crowned the 2026 National Carnival Queen after finishing with identical final scores.
The results were announced on Saturday, July 4, at the Pavilion on Rodney Bay, where nine delegates competed across six segments. 

According to the Carnival Planning and Management Committee (CPMC), both the contestants received the same final score after an independent audit which made them the first co-winners in history of the competition.

The CPMC later issued a statement in which it explained the scoring process after the decision sparked widespread public discussion.

The pageant was judged by a panel of nine judges, including three regional and six local experts. A maximum five judges assessed each competition segment. 

All scores were entered and calculated using digital judging software in order to eliminate any manual calculation errors.

After this the results were independently audited and verified by the Office of the Director of Audit, which confirmed that Lewis and Edward had achieved identical final scores.

The committee also noted that the scores are not changed once scoring is completed. This practice help in eliminating any scope of bias or outside influence. All delegates were informed about this before the competition.

CPMC also stated that the National Carnival Queen Pageant does not contians any tie-breaking rules because such a situation had never occurred before. It said that introducing a tie-breaker after the scores had already been verified would have compromised the fairness of the competition. 

Both Lewis and Edward will receive the full winner’s package which includes EC$25,000 in cash, a fully funded scholarship and an all-expenses-paid cruise courtesy of Cox and Company.

The committee further announced that it has begun a formal review of the pageant’s rules and related policies to ensure that they remain clear and comprehensive. Any necessary updates, including provisions for handling ties, will be introduced before the next National Carnival Queen Pageant.

Despite the explanation, the unprecedented result has continued to generate discussion among members of the public, with many questioning whether the competition should have had a tie-breaking procedure to determine a single winner.

Several social media users suggested that an additional question-and-answer round could be introduced if contestants finish with identical scores, while others questioned whether such a procedure existed or had been communicated to delegates before the competition. Others, however, defended the decision, saying both contestants deserved to share the title after delivering equally strong performances.