The first evening of the '24' stage of the 12th season of the 'Million's Poet' program began two days ago on the stage of 'Rest Beach' in Abu Dhabi. The event is produced by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage under the slogan 'Our Poetry is One'. This comes after the completion of the qualifiers from the previous stage, which took place over eight rounds in the past two months, and ended with 24 poets earning the opportunity to continue their journey through the remaining stages of the competition. The judging panel announced the advancement of poets Abdullah Mohammed Al-Ajmi (Kuwait) and Abdulmajid Al-Saqeer Al-Subaie (Saudi Arabia) to the next stage. Al-Ajmi scored 49 out of 50, while Al-Subaie scored 48. The judging panel also announced a new criterion for the '24' stage. Dr. Sultan Al-Aimi, a member of the panel, stated that in the second half of each round, each poet will be required to write three verses in emulation of one of two poets selected by the panel. The emulation will be based on the weight, rhyme, and the same theme of the poems designated by the panel. The event's program included a performance by the Abu Dhabi Folklore Troupe, which told a story from the life of the sea in harmony with the voices of the performers in the art of 'Al-Ahila'. This art relies primarily on the power of the performers' voices and their reservoir of original Nabati poetry, without any rhythmic or melodic instruments. Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Abdulmajid Al-Subaie advanced to the next stage of the program.
