Liar
now with 17% more class
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2003
- Posts
- 43,715
No, really.
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Arab 'Poet Idol' lures 70 million viewers
The Crown Prince is sitting in the front row. So are several of his wives. It is Tuesday night and in a large theatre on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi the recording of Million's Poet, the most popular prime-time show in the Middle East, is about to begin.
With its catchy theme song, coloured lights and giant video screens, the show bears a striking resemblance to Pop Idol. But in the deeply conservative United Arab Emirates, the studio audience is segregated according to sex, the judges hold doctorates and the hostess wears a hot-pink abaya.
Most of the contestants in Million's Poet come from poor Beduin villages, where the ancient art of Nabati poetry is dying. Similar to an ode and recited in colloquial Arabic, the form dates back to 4th-century Arabia, where poets were revered as messengers, inspired by God, who elevated their tribe's sense of pride.
Tonight they perform for a live television audience and 70 million viewers across the Arab world, competing for a cash prize of one million dirhams (about £140,000).
Read the rest here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3463116.ece
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Arab 'Poet Idol' lures 70 million viewers
The Crown Prince is sitting in the front row. So are several of his wives. It is Tuesday night and in a large theatre on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi the recording of Million's Poet, the most popular prime-time show in the Middle East, is about to begin.
With its catchy theme song, coloured lights and giant video screens, the show bears a striking resemblance to Pop Idol. But in the deeply conservative United Arab Emirates, the studio audience is segregated according to sex, the judges hold doctorates and the hostess wears a hot-pink abaya.
Most of the contestants in Million's Poet come from poor Beduin villages, where the ancient art of Nabati poetry is dying. Similar to an ode and recited in colloquial Arabic, the form dates back to 4th-century Arabia, where poets were revered as messengers, inspired by God, who elevated their tribe's sense of pride.
Tonight they perform for a live television audience and 70 million viewers across the Arab world, competing for a cash prize of one million dirhams (about £140,000).
Read the rest here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3463116.ece
