The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism has announced the opening of registration for participation in the 12th season of the 'Prince of Poets' programme, one of the most prominent cultural programmes dedicated to classical Arabic poetry, through the programme's official website during the period from 7 July to 6 August 2026.
The authority invited poets, both male and female, from across the Arab world to seize the opportunity to take part in the programme, which has become, through its previous seasons, a leading platform for discovering new poetic voices and presenting them to Arab audiences, in addition to its role in supporting the classical poetry movement and enhancing its presence in the contemporary cultural scene.
According to the eligibility conditions, applicants must be no younger than 18 and no older than 45 years of age, and must submit a printed classical ode of no more than 20 and no fewer than 8 verses, or a free-verse poem of no more than 2 stanzas, with each stanza containing no more than 15 and no fewer than 10 lines.
Participants must also submit a brief biography along with their address and contact details, a copy of a valid passport with at least one full year of remaining validity, a personal photo for official purposes, and must complete the electronic registration form on the programme's official website: princeofpoets.ae.
Once the registration period closes, the judging committee will sort through applications and evaluate the poetic texts according to precise artistic and critical criteria, in preparation for conducting interviews and selecting the poets who qualify for the live episodes held at the Al Raha Beach Theatre in Abu Dhabi, where an elite group of poets compete for the title of 'Prince of Poets'.
The 'Prince of Poets' programme continues to fulfil its cultural mission as one of the most prominent Arab projects concerned with classical poetry, having succeeded since its launch in attracting thousands of poets from various Arab countries and contributing to bringing the Arabic poem back to the forefront of the cultural and media scene.
It affirms Abu Dhabi's role in promoting Arab cultural interaction and communication, as an open window onto the horizons of dialogue between peoples and cultures, and as a platform for making poets' voices heard by a wide audience that shares a common language and shared sentiment.