Carnival excitement is building across Belize as the nation prepares to kick off its most beloved annual cultural celebration, with the highly anticipated 2026 Carnival King and Queen Competition scheduled to take place this Saturday at the Belize City Civic Center. Scheduled weeks ahead of the traditional September main carnival parade, this year’s competition will showcase contestants across two divisions: junior and senior, who are ready to take the stage with their elaborate, vividly colored custom costume creations. The event is proudly sponsored by RF&G Insurance Ltd., which operates under the company slogan “It Pays to Get it Right”.
Beyond the eye-catching feathers, sparkling glitter, and larger-than-life costumes that will dazzle audience members, competitors and their supporting mas bands have invested weeks of meticulous, labor-intensive preparation and pulled countless late nights to perfect their entries for the two coveted crowns. Samantha Soberanis, band leader of the Collet Reveller Junior Mas Band, opened up about the grueling work that goes into creating competition-winning costumes, explaining that designs often require multiple restarts to get every detail right.
“Body pieces and smaller head pieces might take less time, but for King and Queen contender costumes, we’re talking hundreds of hours of work,” Soberanis explained. “Every tiny detail matters. You might build a section a certain way, step back to look at the full costume, and realize it just doesn’t work the way you imagined it. When that happens, you have no choice but to pull it apart and start all over from scratch.”
For attendees hoping to watch the competition, pre-judging of entries is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. local time, with the main stage show kicking off two hours later at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are set at $10 BZD for adult attendees and $5 BZD for children, making the event accessible for families and carnival fans of all ages. This year’s pageant is expected to draw a packed crowd of locals and tourists alike, all eager to catch a first look at the top creative works ahead of Belize’s biggest street parade of the year.