Jennifer Hale and Billy Gilman named celebrity hosts
By Allen Cone, WPBF
September 2, 2026
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s Miss America Week in West Palm Beach.
On Saturday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included the reigning Miss America, and city and tourism officials took place at Lake Pavilion. West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James attended the event.
Saturday’s event was hosted by the Miss America Organization and Discover The Palm Beaches.
Jennifer Hale and Billy Gilman will be the celebrity hosts on Saturday for the crowning of the 21st Miss America’s Teen at the Kravis Center, followed one day later by the crowning of the 99th Miss America at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
Fifty-two women from every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have arrived in West Palm Beach.
The Miss Teen delegates arrived later Saturday after the event.
“We are here cutting the ribbon, officially saying we are in the Palm Beaches and I am so excited,” 2026 Miss America Cassie Donegan said. “It’s amazing already. Can’t wait for the rest of the week.”
Donegan, who represented New York at the competition last September in Orlando, said the contestants will be exploring the sights and sounds of Palm Beach County.
On Saturday, the state delegates experienced a Hakuna Matata catamaran cruise with Visit Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach Food Tour.
“There is nothing like being welcomed with open arms,” she said.
The new winner will be called Miss America 2027.
At Saturday’s event, contestants discussed their education, community service work and their causes. Over the years, there have been doctors, lawyers and even a rocket scientist.
The 2024 Miss America Madison Marsh, a U.S. Air Force second lieutenant and a master’s student at the Harvard Kennedy School, became the first active duty military member to earn the crown.
Miss Florida Alexandra de Roos, a native of Winter Haven, hopes to be the first winner from the Sunshine State since 2004.
In May, it was announced the 2026 Miss America competition will take place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6 in West Palm Beach, with events also hosted at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and the Hilton West Palm Beach.
“It feels especially meaningful to announce this powerful next step for Miss America,” Robin Fleming, CEO of the Miss America Organization, said at the time. “The Palm Beaches represent vision, momentum, and possibility, a place where women’s voices, ambition, and achievement can take center stage.”
“Welcoming the Miss America Competition to The Palm Beaches is a significant honor for our destination,” said Milton Segarra, CDME, president and CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches, the tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County. “For more than a century, Miss America has stood as a national platform for leadership and service. Hosting this iconic competition underscores our community’s ability to stage world-class events that bring people together and leave a lasting impact.”
The Palm Beach County Convention Center will serve as the official hub for the competition. Preliminary competition programming and the Miss America’s Teen final competition will be held at the Kravis Center.
The Miss America Pageant was founded in 1921 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where it took place until 2005, and then from 2013 to 2018.
Bert Parks was the host of the pageant from 1995 to 1979. He died in 1992.
Parks would serenade the winner with the song “There She Is, Miss America.”
Each year, the organization gives around $35 million in scholarships through the local, state and national levels.
Tickets to live shows are also available for purchase at missamerica.org.
CELEBRITY HOSTS
Hale is a veteran Fox NFL and college football sideline reporter, regular contributor to Fox & Friends Weekend and Fox Live Now, and former moderator of FS1’s Undisputed.
The multiple Emmy, Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press Award winner has also covered the NBA Playoffs, Westminster Dog Show and professional basketball.
A New Orleans native, Hale is a survivor of cardiomyopathy and a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association.
Gilman is returning for his second year of hosting.
At age 11, Rhode Island native Billy Gilman debuted his single “One Voice.” His debut album went double-platinum, and at 12, he became the youngest artist ever to top Billboard’s Country Albums chart, earning a Guinness World Record.
He went on to receive Grammy, Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music and Billboard Award nominations, as well as an American Music Award, and has sold more than 11 million records worldwide.
In 2016, Gilman was a member of Team Adam Levine on NBC’s “The Voice,” finishing as runner-up.
Read the article and watch the segment HERE: https://www.wpbf.com/article/florida-celebrity-hosts-named-miss-america-miss-americas-teen-in-west-palm-beach/73559741