المصدر -  

*Prince Abdullah: the competition foresees the future, faces challenges and contributes to personifying the Kingdom’s Vision 2030

  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2016-(ME NewsWire)-* *General Authority for Sports celebrated the announcement of winners in the first Saudi Talents Competition. The closing ceremony was held under the patronage of HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musaed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, President of the General Authority for Sports, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Riyadh, on Friday. A large audience attended, who enjoyed various activities, starting with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by a display of the participants’ work.   Next came Mohammad Al Qahtani’s work, a Saudi National and global public speaking award winner at international competitions. He gave a presentation on how inspiration and excellence can be shown by creative and talented individuals.   The first 10 winners were then announced and received awards from HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musaed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. Coming first, Fares Al Hamid, was awarded a car worth SAR 100,000; while first runner-up, Abdulkarim Al Shalahi, received a car worth SAR 75,000; and second runner-up, Abdulrahman Al Shalhoub, received a check for SAR 50,000.   Winners of the 4th-10th places were each awarded cash amounts of SAR 15,000 and commemorative shields. The winners were: Hawraa Ali, Hamad Salman Al Ouda, Ohoud Abdullah, Malak Al Shahri, Ziad Badghesh, Hiba Al Ghamdi and Manei Al Waili.   Commemorative photos were taken during the ceremony, and HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musaed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud received a special gift from Assad Abualjadail, Chairman of the Board at Creative Edge Group.   His Royal Highness, President of the General Authority for Sports, commended the distinguished talents at the ceremony and noted that this is the first experience for the Authority, and will be supported further to attract more talent. His Royal Highness thanked the participants and congratulated this year’s award-winners.   The General Authority for Sports launched this competition, the largest of its kind in the country, on April 12th 2016, using the Kingdom’s online platforms to find male and female Saudi talents aged 14-35.   The competition started with a dedicated website for entries, where over 2,500 applications were received within just 20 days. Graphic Art talent was the most popular entry; online interactions exceeded 20 million; the competition website recorded over 1.5 million visitors, along with 600,000+ YouTube views since the April 12th launch.   A specialized committee then examined the entries and 120 were shortlisted for the 10-day public vote. After fierce competition and more than 250,000 votes, 30 talents qualified to reach the semifinals.   The jury then met the talents in Riyadh and Jeddah, examining their entries under strict and fair measures, resulting in 10 talents reaching the finals. The finalists were again subject to public voting, which determined the final results, which were announced during the closing ceremony.