Speaking from her aunt's home in Essex, shortly after checking out from her regal suite in London, Odessa, who did not place in the top 20, said she felt confident all the way leading up to the grand occasion at the Alexandra Palace, London on Saturday afternoon.

She urged prospective candidates, not only for the Miss Guyana-World, but other pageants, to "hold on to their dreams and be determined. "You'll get through," she added.

And a proud and heartened Guyanese, Miss Guyana-World promoter, Ken Chung said "Odessa did a fantastic job."

"She did all we could ask of her, and certainly blossomed out in this pageant. She made a great impact and has left a lot of great memories for Guyana.

Noting that it was not a 'win or lose' situation, he said: "It's how you played the game, and she certainly played it very well."

And Miss Guyana-World chaperone, Deryck Moore described Odessa as being "simply stunning" on stage.

He felt that by any standard, Odessa's performance merited her a place in the top 20.

She looked magnificent on stage, displayed her evening gown well and also did very well in the other sequences,” Moore said.

Describing her as quite a "bubbly" person, he said he was also quite impressed with the way she got along with the other contestants.

"She was really an incentive, and reached out to everyone. Each time I called, there was always something good to hear," Moore said.

He is urging other Guyanese with their eyes on the Miss World crown to "keep working at it to be able to match Olive (Gopaul, 2001) and Odessa next year."

Following the Miss World Show on Saturday, Odessa attended a ball at the Alexandra Palace where she said she had a great time.

She told of having great fun in London and of adjusting to the weather. She is due home on December 17.

Azra Akin, a 21-year-old model and dancer took the Miss World crown in the contest moved to Britain from Nigeria after deadly Muslim-Christian riots sparked by controversy over the pageant.