Beirut – Lebanon, May 12, 2018: Sadeem – the Arab world’s biggest digital competition and series – announces the winner of Season 1 at the iconic Venue Verde, Beirut, during a red-carpet finale in front of social media influencers from across the region.
Giving a tough fight to finish, Ali Neyadi from Oman, took home the winning trophy. The 24-year-old Omani currently studies Computer Systems in Ireland, while creating engaging content about students abroad. Ali won Sadeem Season 1 – which had more than 18,000 applicants from across the globe – and walks home with a grand prize of 1 million riyals and a trip to San Francisco to the headquarters of the major social media platforms.
Besides Ali, Sadeem’s top 10 finalists included Lina Fakahani from Egypt & Walid Fatam from Morocco for vlogging; Mohammed Al-Salini from Libya & Qassim Al-Hato from Jordan for Travel and Adventure; Abdullah Jalal from Pakistan and Muthanna Al-Salih from Iraq for Inspiration; Abdulrahman Al Khamis from Kuwait for Innovation and Technology; Omar Al-Kikhia from Libya for Entertainment; and Zainab Moallem from Algeria for Comedy and Satire.
Expressing his gratitude following the win, Ali said:
“I am thrilled to be the Season 1 winner. It was an amazing competition. I worked incredibly hard and learned so much during the course of the show. It was really a rewarding experience, and also great fun. I take this opportunity to thank the organizers of the competition for giving us this vital platform to showcase our abilities.”
The entries were judged by Egypt’s rising motivational speaker Kareem Esmail, Algeria’s popular online satirist Youcef Zarouta, and Kuwait’s influential fashion blogger Ascia Al Faraj. The two star hosts of the series were Jordanian actress and YouTube celebrity Tima Shomali, and Lebanon’s king of velfies Issam Merheb, known as Simi.
Youcef Zarouta stated: “Sadeem has proven to be one of the biggest platforms to showcase Gen Z talent and we are extremely proud to have been associated with such a revolutionary event.”
Enthused by the vigor demonstrated by all the participants, Ascia Al Faraj said: “Today’s generation is extremely creative and talented, there are no two ways about it. Sadeem has done an amazing job at discovering the Arab world’s talented young people, including Ali, the winner of Season 1.”
Acknowledging efforts of Sadeem partners & sponsors, Tima said:
“We would like to extend our gratitude towards Sadeem partners who trusted our vision and came on-board without any inhibitions. We are extremely thankful to our official ambassadors Lana el Sahely from Lebanon; Meryem Karim from Morocco; Khalifa al Haroon from Qatar; Humood AlKhuder from Kuwait; and Ali al Asadi from Iraq for their unwavering support”.
The show has been supported by Humanagement, Demco Properties, Talabat, L’Oreal, Nyx, Qatar Airways, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.