(Seychelles News Agency) - Miss Seychelles Another World 2016 Christine Barbier said on Tuesday that being in the Miss World beauty pageant was a moment she will remember for the rest of her life.

Barbier spoke to SNA upon her arrival in Seychelles after taking part in the 66th edition of the Miss World beauty pageant under the theme ‘Beauty with a purpose’ on December 18 in the United States. The coveted title went to Miss Puerto Rico Stephanie Del Valle. 

“The most special moment for me was when we were on stage that day [Sunday] because I knew I performed well in my dance for the opening of the show,” said Barbier.

After being crowned Miss Seychelles Another World 2016 in May, Barbier started preparations for the world pageant. She left Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, end of November for Washington D.C where she met the 120 contestants from around the globe.

‘They were all super friendly. I was in the ‘red’ team that won the sports event, and we also won the prize for best team leader,” Barbier told SNA.

With the frosty weather in Washington D.C dropping down to 0 degrees Celsius, Barbier says she was constantly falling sick as she found it difficult to cope with the drastic change in weather conditions after the sunshine in Seychelles to winter in the U.S.

Barbier told SNA she had the help of her roommate, Miss Fiji, who took care of her while she was down and she managed to pull through for all of the pre-crowning events up to the grand finale.

The event was broadcast live on the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation television service at midnight local time. 

Miss Seychelles Christine Barbier (second from left) was welcomed at the airport by high official of STB and Ministry of Tourism (Vanessa Lucas) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

Barbier received a lot of support in the U.S. from her mother Judeline Barbier who flew there to be with her daughter.

“I am very proud, even though she did not win a prize, because the competition was quite tough but in future, I am sure that contestants from the African continent will be able to win something and with the right training Seychelles can too,” said Barbier’s mum. 

"The atmosphere that day was really good, there were only four of us cheering for Christine, but we made friends with those in the crowd," she added.

Although she was tired and jet lagged after the 16-hour flight back home, Barbier says that after the experience she now was many friends around the world all of whom promised to stay in contact.

Barbier said she was impressed with the fact that almost all contestants knew about Seychelles and some of them had been to the islands before.

“This made me so proud because it shows that we are no longer just a dot on the map anymore,” said Barbier.