If it’s Tuesday, it must be the night of poets

If it’s Tuesday, it must be the night of poets
By Silvia Radan (Our staff reporter/KHALEEJ TIMES)27 December 2007

ABU DHABI — After the success of the previous edition, the second session of the Million Poet Competition opened on Tuesday night in the capital, in the presence of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.


The competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), is taking place at Al Raha Beach Theatre on a weekly basis, every Tuesday. The 48 competitors who have been chosen from an impressive list of 10,000 applicants were all present on stage on the first night, to open the 15-week long live show.

Just like in the previous session, the poets, both men and women, come from all over the Gulf region and beyond, but their poetry, either modern or traditional, is in Arabic language and style.

Each Tuesday night, eight competitors recite their verses and the judges pick two winners, while the public also chooses its two favourites, voting through SMS, which is announced the following week.

By the end of the 15 rounds, 24 poets will be left in the competition, but only one will be crowned the Million Poet, receiving not only the prestigious title, but also Dh1 million.

The previous session, which ended in March this year, was the highest rated show in the Gulf region and it became the latest hit on a TV series.