Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center launches the first episode of the third season of El Beit Poetry Show

The first episode of the third season of El Beit poetry show kicked off live on Dubai Al Oula at 10.30pm on Monday, January 4th 2016 even as Dubai marked the 10th anniversary of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, accession as Ruler of Dubai.
Organized and produced by Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), the government entity that promotes and disseminates the UAEs national heritage, filming took place at the shows studio in Dubai Studio City.
It is in line with the strategic vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to use El Beit as an interactive platform for promoting Nabati poetry as an essential cultural symbol of the UAE in particular, and the Gulf region and the Arab world in general.

This is a key factor in building bridges between the past and the present, while strengthening the concept of national identity and serving as a tributary to preserve cultural heritage.

El Beit show is considered the focal point and pathway towards unearthing creativity and talented poets.

The show aims to elevate Nabati poetry and endow the poetic arena with new thoughts.

Latest technologies are being implemented in the studio and over social media to revive the heritage across the GCC.
The show opened with El Beit logo in augmented Reality.

In the judging panel this season is the phenomenal Omani poet Hmoud Bin Wahqa, who is one of the winners of the second season, proving that El Beit does create stars in the field of poetry.

El Beit anticipates reaching a broader audience through the variety of Nabaty poetry schools represented by the judges from different countries in the GCC, in addition to attracting a high response from viewers, and greater interaction with the participants.

El Beit targets to highlight talented young poets so that viewers can enjoy the show.

After a warm welcome in the first episode of the third season by the shows host Barakat Al Wagayan, the competition revealed an initial chater (the second half of a poetic verse) on the shows official website at 5pm on Monday, January 4th, which began with: "Those who pass away leave loved ones in sorrow, yet you have left behind utter joy in our hearts".

This was the official theme of the show, energizing the audience of poetry and literature enthusiasts.

In each episode, the audience must send the second verse until 7pm, through tweets on (@el_beit).

These tweets are evaluated by a screening committee for quality checks, before being sent to the jury without any knowledge of the participant's name.

There are three rounds in which the jury selects four or more deserving chater (second verses in this case) per round, to be displayed on the silver screen.

Should there be more than four deserving verses, the jury must review them and reduce them down to the top four.

After the end of the third round, the 12 best verses will be shown on the golden screen before selecting the best overall verse.

The first winner was Al Hareth Wazea, who composed the following verse in response: "The feelings of people reflects the value of those departed."

His fluency and ability to understand deeper meanings qualified him into the Semi Final episode where he stands the chance to win AED 1,000,000 if he reaches the Grand Final.

The last competition featured a picture.

Viewers will write a verse that sums up the concept of the image and send it to El Beits official Twitter account, where the competition will be open until 12pm on Friday.

The winner will get AED 100,000 while two runners-up will each get AED 50,000. However only the first-placed participant qualifies to the Semi Final and stands the possibility to compete for the Grand Final episode.

Among the most prominent additions this season, is a guest of honor who will host each episode.

The honored guests are pioneers and highly renowned masters in the performance of the traditional art of 'Al Shalla'.

Aidha Al Minhali had the honor of performing the 1st Shalla under the title 'Sheikh of Loyalty' to celebrate the leadership and futuristic vision during 10 years as Ruler of Dubai of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE.

The honored guest of Al Shalla will be entrusted with selecting a winner should the judges be tied in their votes.

One of the two competing verses and the verse displayed on the golden screen will stand to win their composer AED 100,000, although he or she is not eligible to participate for the Grand Final episode.

The co-host for the third season is the Emirati poet Ahmed Al Bidwawi, who introduced the popular artist Aidha Al Minhali who in turn chose the following verse by competitor Khaled Al Qahtani.

He won AED 100,000, although he is now ineligible to participate in the Grand Final episode.

The surprise of the show was that HHC granted all the participants on the golden screen were granted AED 10,000 in celebration of the occasion.