The Quran Recitation and Athan competitions launched by Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Al-Sheikh have achieved unprecedented global success. The competitions, which aim to discover the most beautiful and influential voices, present an innovative idea which has enjoyed a high level of positive engagement and participation from various countries around the world. Contents about the two competitions reviewing their details and grand prizes were featured on the front pages of some of the world's most respected newspapers in eight different languages including English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian and Persian, in addition to local and regional Arabic coverage in newspapers of major Arab countries such as The Arab Gulf States, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. The competitions achieved this global success during their first stage, following GEA's decision to extend the registration period until August 18 in order to accommodate the large turnout of interested participants from all over the world, which has so far exceeded 30,000 participants from 162 countries.
