Miss Intercontinental was first held in 1971 on the small island of Aruba. The pageant at that time was called: The Miss Teenage Peace International. The Netherlands was not represented in that pageant. In 1974 they changed the name in Miss Teenage Intercontinental and that name was changed again in 1979 to Miss Teen Intercontinental. In 1982 the pageant name was changed for the last time into the name we still use today: Miss Intercontinental.
Since 1993 the organization is based in Germany and was held in that country until 2005 and after that year the pageant was held in exotic places all over the world to return to Germany in 2012.
The Netherlands did not participate in all the pageants and were not very successful when they participated. Off course there are exceptions: Barbara Ann Neefs was 2nd runner-up in 1976, Caroline Hooft was a semi-finalist in 1978 and in 1983, Brigitte Bergman won the pageant. After that Miss Holland never placed again.
Last year in 2014 the Netherlands was not represented but this year the Netherlands will be represented again by the lovely Iris Hertroijs.
We asked Iris 10 questions….
Who is Iris Hertroijs?
I am a young passionate an ambitious woman, who believes that dreams can come true by hard work. I am clumsy, sometimes insecure, but also conscious of my abilities and talents. I love the beautiful things in life, big or small. Thus I am very happy and proud with my title of Miss Intercontinental Netherlands 2015, but I can also be happy tithe some cotton candy or ice-cream. I secretly believe and I would secretly be a princess. And with that also comes wearing a beautiful dress and a crown.
You love to participate in beauty pageants why?
I think that everybody participating in a pageant loves the glamour. And that also applies to me: I love the dresses, hair, make up and the shoes. As I just mentioned, my childhood dream to be a princess never got lost. But besides that pageants are a great way to develop from a girl to a young strong woman. You learn how to handle your public, you meet different inspiring girls with different interests and cultural backgrounds, you travel to countries, you normally wouldn’ t visit and you learn to strive your goal and to handle the competition. But the best thing about pageants is, I think, the platform to let people hear your voice. This way you can reach a lot of people with a good cause you think is important and your vision which goes with it.
How will jou prepare for the international pageant?
Besides eating well and training hard for a beautiful body for the bikini round, I am going to take catwalk training. I also will practice questions with the other beauties an with my mother, because she enjoys this very much and she is very oddly well doing this. I also will get a beautiful bikini, I already have a awesome national costume and I will get a lot of beautiful dresses, some of which I will make myself. Oo and I am going to learn some german.
The last few years the Netherlands did not do very well in Miss Intercontinental, how will you change that?
That is a hard question, because I am sure the girls who wore the title before me, also committed for 100 procent. I hink a good preparation is half the job done. So I train hard, get the right gear and learn all I can about the pageant. For example, the history, the different rounds during the finals and the point of view of the pageant. Furthermore I think the most important thing is staying yourself and enjoying the pageant.
How will you stand out in a group of international beauty’s?
What used to be a reason for bullies to get to me, of course there never is a good reason for that, are now the characteristic features in my appearance making me stand out. I am very pale, I have very light blue eyes and light blond hair. Of course all delegates in Miss Intercontinental are beautiful, but I think I have a unique appearance. I used to hate those fetters on me, but now I am glad with my features. Besides that I thing that my persisting optimism and friendliness will cause that I will not be a waal flower.
What will you tell the other girls about the Netherlands, besides the well known windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese, that they should know about our country and why?
I would tell them about the different cultures in the Netherlands. That in some big cities you can find all the cuisines from around the world. And that all those cultures live together in harmony. Besides that I will tell them about the temperate nature of the dutch people, but also their openness. Everybody has his own opinion in the Netherlands and many are open for these opinions. That is the nicest and best to live in the Netherlands.
Beeing a beauty queen, you can make a stand for a good case. What cause do you stand for and why? What will you do to make a difference?
I think it very scary how girls and women think about themselves. Many women are insecure about their bodies, appearance and their abilities. They want to be perfect on all accounts. Not only to look perfect, but they have to have a perfect career. Making mistakes or being insecure sometimes seem taboo. And I am finished with that. I am not perfect and there are days that I look in the mirror and only see the things which are not totally perfect. Even in my career I am not perfect. After 2,5 years I quit my study and now after 1,5 years I picked it up again. And you know what, I don’t feel less and I am still proud of myself. Also my not-perfect point made me who I am today. You can only be happy with yourself by embracing also those things about you. And that is where I want to stand. I will do this by sharing my story, full of learning moments. By sharing my insecurities, beauty queens are not perfect. And in a fun way with beauty tricks, videos and DIY to teach how to show your pride from the outside. I will do this all on my blog, where I will also show what it’s like behind the scenes of a beauty pageant: www.irisblue.nl
Miss Intercontinental is not well known in the Netherlands. What is your campaign to promote this pageant in our country?
Besides promoting the pageant on my blog, by posting videos and on facebookpage Miss Intercontinental the Netherlands, I will do several interviews like this one in the media. I will also be present at several events: next week I am the host at Mister International Netherlands 2015. I enjoy going to events, that’s why I will be studying in september, I’m looking forward to this all.
What is the one personal thing you may not forget to bring to the international pageant and why
My ring: I got this very beautiful ring from my boyfriend. Vintage with a large blue stone and small white ones around.He also wears a ring. My boyfriend is a huge support to me. He gave me confidence when I started doing beauty pageants, and I was not doing well at that moment. So that’s how I started in beauty pageants. This ring is a very beautiful memory . If I look at the ring when I am nervous, before entering the stage or being interviewed, I remember that someone believes in me and that I have to do this myself.
How about iris in 10 years from now.
It is difficult to look into the future. I always planned 10 years ahead, but for the first time I haven’t done so. I think that, whatever I will do and where life will bring me, I will be successful and happy. I know that I am a career woman. But my biggest dream is and always will be that I would like to have a healthy family with 2 or 3 happy kids and a loving and caring man.
And furthermore I think if I go in this ace, all those dreams, big or small will come true, because I never give up.
We would like to thank Iris for the time to answer our questions and we wish her all the best of luck at the pageant. we will off course follow her during her reign….
photo-credits:
photography: Siciliani Texel
MUA and Hair:Angelica de Brouwer
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