Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – There will be two new categories of prizes and competitions for the 12th edition of the annual Souk Okaz festival, which will begin in Taif on June 27.

The general secretariat of the festival announced on Wednesday about opening of the nomination procedure for competitions and prizes to poets, plastic artists, writers, innovators in the field of science, calligraphers and photographers from the Arab world, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The cultural committee of the festival will start receiving nominations for prizes worth a total of SR2.5 million from April 1 and the names of the winners will be announced in May.

Prince Sultan Bin Salman, president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) and chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the festival, approved the prizes and competitions of the 12th edition, which will be held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

There will be a total of 15 prizes and competitions covering a wide range of creativity in arts, social sciences and humanities. These include Okaz International Prize for Arabic Poetry (Poet of Okaz), Okaz Young Poet prize, Okaz Literary Award, Okaz International Prize for Handicrafts, Okaz International Prize for Arabic Calligraphy, Innovation Prize, Entrepreneurship Prize, Photography Competition, Folk Arts Competition, and the Okaz Theater Competition. Prizes in literary appreciation and short film competition are introduced for the first time this year.

The applications can be submitted through the website of Souk Okaz (www.sooqokaz.com) or by post. Souk Okaz, which represents a unique and important tourism landmark in the Kingdom, was re-created on the same location where the ancient Souk Okaz used to be held.

The festival was revived in 2006 by Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is also adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.