The trouble with London? Once you get there you might never want to leave.

That’s been the case for Miss Bermuda Lillian Lightbourn.

Over the past few weeks the 24-year-old and other Miss World contestants have been on a whirlwind tour of the British capital.

They’ve visited the West End Theatre district to see a production of Phantom of the Opera, gone on a bus tour of the bustling city and been shopping on Oxford Street.

“My impression so far of London is that I want to live here because I really love it,” Miss Lightbourn said.

“I know Bermuda is pretty fancy, but London is really amazing as well. It has this classy feel, but it’s still got a modern touch.

“I feel like I’m in another world being here. But now that I’ve got to see the first piece of the city, I’m really excited to get out there, do other things and just walk around and get lost.”

It will be crunch time over the next few days as Miss Lightbourn and the other contestants prepare for the Miss World Pageant grande finale this Sunday.

The Bermudian model said she felt confident with her performance so far.

However her biggest challenge has been catching the eye of the judges and international media.

Being from such a small country makes it hard to get noticed, she said.

That’s why she’s calling on the people of Bermuda to rally behind her.

Miss Lightbourn said she needs everyone’s support in order to be successful in the competition this weekend.

“Everyone’s support means a lot to me, whether I win or lose it touches me to see my country support me in any way they can,” she said.

“I appreciate anything I get from people — whether it’s an e-mail saying they voted for me in the People’s Choice Award or the Multimedia Category — or just offering me a word of encouragement.

“It makes me want to push it to the limit and try my hardest to get things done. But I’ve realised it takes ‘teamwork to make the dream work’. I really can’t do it by myself.”

One of the best parts of the Miss World experience has been having the chance to share her faith with the other young women.

She was allowed to say a prayer during a memorial service for Miss Honduras. Maria Jose Alvarado was shot dead in Honduras last month.

“It was live-streamed around the world so her family could see it in Honduras,” Miss Lightbourn explained.

“I didn’t know her, but her life did impact me. It’s easy to take life for granted but it’s clear she had a lot more positive things she wanted to do. It reminded me of the importance of doing what you can in the present, rather than saying ‘I will do it tomorrow’. Take advantage of the time you have now.”

She said sharing about Jesus has been another highlight for her. “The other girls have been so excited to hear it,” Miss Lightbourn said. “They are asking me for prayer time and want to meet up to pray. These young women aren’t interested in getting wrapped up in politics, they just want to see a change in the world and want to pray about it.”

She told The Royal Gazette she was “really excited” about the live televised pageant.

“I can’t tell you how different I feel now in terms of my perspective about my life,” she said.

“Some of the young ladies I have met come from countries or families where they don’t have much when it comes to resources for their [community service] projects.

“But they still get it done regardless. It wipes away any excuse that I could bring to the table to not do something great.

“I feel like as soon as I get back on the plane to New York and Bermuda I need to get started on doing these things that are on my heart for Bermuda and the fashion industry, because it’s necessary.”

Miss Lightbourn feels most models are these days known for bad behaviours — like drugs, sex, alcohol and clubbing.

Her goal is to get them to think about their influence and play a bigger part in changing the world for good.

“I want to collaborate with some of the other contestants I met in the future, so I can get more models involved with their causes,” she explained.

“Some of them are starting projects helping underprivileged children or victims of sex trafficking and I was really touched by their efforts. It sparked something in me and made me more determined to get my charitable projects off the ground.”