Interview with Alberto Cerqua
Interview with Alberto Cerqua for “Intervistando”
by Ilaria Solazzo
Hi Alberto and welcome to INTERVISTANDO. Let's start with the first question. When did you understand that your path would be in the artistic field?
I have always had very clear ideas about my career. From a very young age I started taking the first steps between companies and agencies in the field of Fashion, Entertainment and Cinema, with the aim of consolidating my entrepreneurial career as soon as possible.
After having realized my first project “Cinema e Moda Italia”, I wanted to create something that concerned the world of fashion and entertainment and that at the same time included integration on a social and cultural level. So I decided to try something much more challenging and ambitious, giving life to my international beauty contest, the now well-known "Miss Europe Continental".
Miss Europe Continental is growing year after year. Did you expect all this success when you decided to create the event?
It was a very bold choice to start an international beauty contest. A company like this, with a production like the one I had in mind then and that I can now carry out ... such an activity is not easy, especially if you start from scratch like I did and considering the many beauty contests that were already well established. I had a clear idea of what I wanted and could achieve, yet I knew that success wasn't going to come by itself. I dedicated every resource to the perfect success of each event I organized, I personally followed all the technical and non-technical aspects, I carefully chose every professional in my team, never losing sight of what my goal was. Now after several years I can finally say that Miss Europe Continental has reached a very high level, becoming an example and a source of inspiration for other Beauty Contests in Europe and around the world.
How does it feel to be the Patron of Miss Europe Continental?
It is certainly a great responsibility. I feel responsible for all the people who take part in the competition every year but when you get well, it doesn't matter how much responsibility you have or how many sacrifices you have to make. Success is what gratifies me because success is the result of your work. I have never been attached to power, I am generous, anyone who knows me knows it.
Why is Miss Europe Continental the most important international competition today?
Before planning the concept of Miss Europe Continental and starting its production, I made a careful analysis of all the beauty contests at national and international level, and I still continue to do it because it is right to be aware of the work done by my "colleagues” too, to constantly improve myself and exceed my own standards every year. The beauty contests in Europe and in the world are really many and of different levels. However, even a person who is not an expert in our sector can easily notice that they do not stand up to the comparison with Miss Europe Continental, considering the very high level of production and the beauty of the candidates; on the contrary, I often note with pleasure that many beauty contests currently take a cue from our show to insert new elements into theirs.
Another strength of Miss Europe Continental is that it is the only international beauty contest to have chosen Italy as the venue for the finals, an exclusive location and always a reference point for fashion worldwide. It follows that we can guarantee our candidates a preparatory path but above all a continuation of work in Italian high fashion.
Who do you want to thank for this growing success?
Of course I have to thank our Misses, the Contest partners, as well as the agencies and Directors who manage the preliminary events to the finals in the various affiliated countries, and the international public that has been following us for years. I also thank the sponsors who have supported us all these years and every member of the technical team who with her work has contributed to building the success of the Contest.
Given the uncertain future, I imagine that the organization is also taking into account the pandemic, with all its various restrictions?
We are well aware of all the restrictions that the pandemic situation will entail in the conduct of the next finals. I never wanted to postpone even one of our events but unfortunately in the years 2020 and 2021 it was not possible to organize any, considering the scope of the event, the candidates who arrive from all over the world and also consequently the international public that from every country travel to Italy to watch the show. Now we are finally ready to held the Finals between April and May 2022, the situation is much calmer and the fact of being a television production allows us to move more freely than other events "in the streets". Obviously we will scrupulously observe all the regulations in force for international travel and all activities will be carried out in total safety, for our Misses, the public and for all Miss Europe Continental collaborators.
Where do you dream of organizing the next Finals?
The Finals have not always taken place in Naples, we have been in many Italian cities and we are also present in several countries around the world, where we organize events related to the Contest. In the future we could certainly evaluate other options, however for the moment Naples seems to be the perfect location for our event, an example of art, beauty, culture, integration, a scenario that in recent years has attracted the attention of the most important fashion brands. The relationship that Naples has with fashion is such an ancient history that it has something legendary, it is a city that has always taken care of appearance and elegance and this is the perfect context to set an ambitious event like ours, ambassador of world beauty.
Future projects?
We are currently working on the production of five new events that will follow the historic European Final of Miss Europe Continental.
The new events will differ from the European Final for the origin of the participating Misses, selected from European and even non-European countries. The European border was a limit that was starting to be very tight and the requests from the rest of the world were so many that after careful evaluations we decided to open the Contest to new realities.
Obviously this entails for us a greater responsibility towards our candidates, wanting to guarantee them a working continuity after participating in the event. For this reason, each candidate will be registered in the Miss Europe Continental agency for a whole year, a new project that will allow us to offer our Misses job opportunities in the Italian scene.
