With the second season of the popular Khaleeji poetry show El Beit under way – and a Dh1 million prize up for grabs – the creative minds now work in an impressive purpose-built studio in Dubai Studio City.
El Beit is backed by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre as an “interactive platform for promoting traditional Nabati poetry as an essential cultural symbol of the UAE in particular, and the Gulf region and the Arab world in general”.
Every Monday at 5pm, the show publishes the first half of a verse on the show's website (elbeit.ae). Aspiring poets then have until 7pm to compose and tweet the second half of the verse to @el_beit.
The entries are judged by a panel containing some of the best-known names in poetry from around the Arabian Gulf. Each week’s winner takes home a Dh100,000 prize and advances to the grand finale, where the 12 episode winners will compete for a Dh1million top prize.
The host, Barakat Al Wagayan, and his co-presenter, the Emirati poet Ahmed Al Bidwawi, will also welcome a special guest from the poetry world each week, who will be tasked with picking the winner in the event of a tie between the judges.
"We are delighted to launch the second season of El Beit with both new and existing elements," says Majid Abdul Rahman Al Bastaki, the show's general coordinator. "In addition, joining our judging panel this season is the phenomenal Omani poet Hamad Al Kharusi, who is considered one of the most iconic poets in the region.
“We hope to reach a broader audience, attracting a high response from our viewers and greater interaction with the participants. We hope to shed light on talented young poets so that our viewers can enjoy this show.”
El Beit is on at 9pm, Mondays on Sama Dubai
cnewbould@thenational.ae