The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) announced the launch of the second stage of the Quran and Athan Global Awards following the conclusion of the first stage on Monday the 18th of August. The second stage will see the shortlisting of registered applicants, which reached 42,000 participants from 162 countries, 24,766 of them in the Quran recitation competition and 17,347 in the Athan competition. Since their launch earlier this year by the GEA's Chairman Turki Al Sheikh, the two competitions witnessed a large global turnout where Saudi Arabia topped the list with 9,082 applicants. Egypt came second with 5,184 applicants, followed by Pakistan with 1,822, Indonesia with 1,801, and India with 1,225. The remaining applicants came from a total of 157 countries. Moreover, the five countries maintained their rankings in the Athan competition, which witnessed a similar level of high interest. The competition received 7,167 participants from Saudi Arabia, 2,872 from Egypt, 2,193 from Pakistan, 1,064 from Indonesia, and 956 from India, with the remaining also covering 157 countries. The final two stages are also expected to witness an outstanding enthusiasm among participants. The third stage involves live on-stage performances, while winner announcements and awarding will be concluded throughout the final stage. The winner of the Quran Recitation competition will receive a prize of SAR5 million ($1.3 million), while the winner of the Athan competition will receive a prize of SAR2 million ($530,000).
