In a television contest, the Syrian, Hassan Baiti, bagged the title of the 'Prince of Poets' last night, and won Dh1 million (US$272,000).

The final round competition was amongst six contestants. Yemeni Mohammed al Sudi got the least points from the judges and audience and he walked away from the competition.

The competition was held to discover young talents in the classical Arabic poetry. The grading was done on the basis of the judges' evaluations and audience votes. Public could vote online or through SMS. Public participating in the programme at Al Raha Beach Theatre could also vote.

The voting revealed that Baiti had stood first with 56 percent votes, from public and judge points. Bassam Saleh Mahdi, of Iraq, was second with 55% of the votes and the points, winning Dh500,000; Jordanian, Turki Abdulghani, stood third with 53% of the votes and points, winning Dh300,000; Iraqi Walid al Sarraf was fourth; and Syrian Hikmat Hassan Jumaa, fifth.

For entry to the competition, more than 7,500 poems were received, out of which 1,000 were selected. 300 poets were interviewed, out of which 35 poets were selected for the contest.

The contest has been named after the late Egyptian poet, Ahmed Shawqi, who received the title of "Prince of Poets" in 1927 from his peers. This time, there were record number of women participants, but none reached in the final six.

This 'Prince of Poets' contest is patronized by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage; and this was the third contest in the series.