As the highly-popular TV competition Millions’ Poet came to an end, ‘Millions’ Poet kids’ stood by to take its place. In a remake of the original version of the show, organizers created a special one-off episode imitating the format of the 16 week TV competition.
Al Raha Beach Theatre, home of the ‘Millions’ Poet’ TV show, saw hundreds of children aged between 4 and 15 years auditioned in-front of a panel of five celebrity judges made up of poets from season three’s competition. Over two days a select 16 children were chosen to compete in a three-hour show culminating with one winner for the third season of Millions’ Poet children.
Parents from all over the Arab World accompanied their young children to Abu Dhabi in the hopes that their child would nab one of the coveted spots on the show that has become a yearly hit. In the end, the contestants chosen to compete came from the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and impressed both judges and audience as they recited their poems dwarfed in the large Millions’ Poet chair.
The 16 talented poets recited poems on subjects ranging from coffee to their parents to poetry and the nation. Each of the poets received a Millions’ Poet medallion given to them by two of the original five judges of the show, Sultan Al Amimi and Dr. Ghassan Al Hassan but only one child left bearing an award of the highest honour and the title of the Millions’ Poet Child Poet for the third season.
Coming in first place was the 7-year-old Emirati poetess Khadeeja Waaed Al Taei who recited a poem about a poet’s journey to Al Raha Beach Theatre. In second place was poet Meshaal Al Shahrani from Saudi Arabia, a nephew of the fifth place winner of season three of Millions’ Poet, Fahed Al Shahrani. In third place was poetess Sara Mahmoud Yateem from Bahrain and in fourth was Shleilouh Al Harthi from the UAE.
Four of the five judges chosen to rate the poets on their poetry and performances were contestants in the third season of Millions’ Poet. Saoud Al Otaibi from Saudi Arabia was much liked by the audience for his strong poetry and comedic personality, Yemei Fahim Al Tam made it all the way to the third round for his superior poetry, Saed Zabin Al Shamri left in the first round but was known for his large presence on stage and Badr Mufarah Al Dhamni was a favourite for his nationalistic poems. Rounding out the five judges was Millions’ Poet presenter Hussein Al Amiri, himself an aspiring poet.
The Millions’ Poet TV Competition ended last week with Saudi Ziab Hajab bin Naheet winning the prestigious title of ‘The Millions’ Poet’ and the five million Dirhams in prize money. The Millions’ Poet was launched by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and is produced by Pyramedia. Its aim has been to bring the region’s youth back to its roots by taking the traditions of the Bedouins from the Gulf into the 21st Century by bringing them to our screens. This year’s live competition saw 48 poets battle it out through various stages over 16 weeks to impress their audiences with their poetry.
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