Miss Grand Cook Islands 2018 Teau Moana McKenzie at the opening ceremony of the Miss Grand International 2018 in Myanmar. Picture: Miss Grand International/18100803

Miss Grand Cook Islands 2018 Teau Moana McKenzie is in Myanmar to compete in the Miss Grand International 2018.

The 23-year-old, who left the country last week, is all geared up for the sixth edition of the international beauty pageant which starts proper with the first competition this weekend.

McKenzie took part in the welcome ceremony and press conference this week.

She will also take part in some activities and sightseeing in the coming days, leading up to the National Costume Competition on Sunday (Cook Islands time).

This will be followed by more sightseeing and activities before the preliminary interview on October 18 and 19.

The Best in Swimsuit Competition will be held on October 20 before the preliminary competition on October 23 and the final show on October 25.

Participants who have come from all over the world will also compete for the Best Evening Gown, Best Social Media and Miss Popular Vote awards.

Miss Grand International 2018 is an international beauty pageant created by the organisation based in Thailand.

Miss Grand International beauty pageant is one of the world class beauty pageants which focus on the advocacy “Stop the War and Violence”. It has more than 90 contestants from around the world.

Miss Grand International beauty pageant had successfully been held in Thailand from 2013 to 2015 before moving to Las Vegas, United States and Phu Quoc, Vietnam in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Miss Grand Puerto Rico, Cuba, Australia and Indonesia were crowned from 2013 to 2016 and the 2017 winner was Maria Jose Lora from Peru.