Over 3,000 Sign Up: Massive Turnout for National Quran Competition

News

The National Centre for the Holy Quran has announced a massive turnout for this year's National Quran Recitation Competition, with 3,053 participants submitting applications before the audition phase registration closed last night at midnight.

The overwhelming response follows sweeping structural changes introduced to make the prestigious national tournament more inclusive, competitive, and of higher quality.

The most significant overhaul to the competition structure allows any eligible Maldivian citizen under the age of 26 to enter independently as an individual participant, moving away from more restrictive traditional institutional selection processes.

Starting this year, the competition will be executed across three distinct progressive phases:

1. The Audition Round: Hosted across Malé and various designated regional islands. Applicants were given the flexibility to select the most accessible location for their auditions upon submitting their forms.
2. The Semi-Final Round: The top 500 participants who score 80% or higher during the audition stage will advance to this segment.
3. The Final Round: The competition narrows down to the top 150 reciters who achieve a score of 85% or higher in the semi-finals.

To support talent across the archipelago, the government has announced a special financial allowance to cover travel and stay expenses for regional participants traveling from the atolls to Malé for the grand finale.

The restructured competition will span eight distinct age groups alongside a dedicated category for Hafizes (those who have memorized the Holy Quran). Contestants will compete across both seen and unseen recitation categories.

The highest achievers in the tournament—including the first, second, and third-place winners across both recitation categories and the Hafiz division—will receive the prestigious Special Prize awarded directly by the President of the Maldives.