Since registrations opened in December, the number of submissions by aspiring social media content creators to ‘Sadeem’, the Arab world’s biggest digital competition and series, has exceeded 18,000 applications, with applications coming from across the Arab world, and as far as the Solomon Islands.

The applicants are competing for a spot in the first-of-its-kind competition and a chance to take part in Sadeem’s exciting journey of discovery, creativity and digital growth that will culminate in the crowning of the Arab region’s next digital superstar. Applicants were asked to produce a unique and compelling introductory video, and submit through sadeem.com.

The second phase of the competition will see an all-star panel of judges sifting through the thousands of submissions received and filtering them down to the hundred most promising personalities, among which will be the future contestants in the following and most exciting phases of the competition.

“The number of submissions we have received to date is truly mind-blowing, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Although it is demanding all our time and attention, we are thrilled to be going through applicants‘ introductory videos, as we pinpoint aspiring social media content creators who have what it takes to be the Arab region‘s next digital superstar. This is truly exciting, and I personally cannot wait to see the final lineup of Sadeem‘s future contestants,“ Sadeem Judge and Kuwait‘s influential fashion blogger Ascia Al Faraj said.

Equally inspired by the applications received to date, Algeria’s popular online satirist and Sadeem Judge Youcef Zarouta is still looking forward to the videos yet to be submitted.

“The current phase of Sadeem marks the beginning of this awe-inspiring journey for our applicants, and it‘s exciting to think that the one who‘ll be crowned as Sadeem‘s first winner might still be out there preparing their participation in the competition,” Youcef noted.

Along with Youcef and Ascia, Sadeem’s prominent jury brings Kuwait’s digital sensation Shuaib Rashed and Egypt’srising motivational speaker and content creator Kareem Esmail to the all-star panel.

Together, the four judges will pick the top 100 applications received during the registration phase, before whittling them down to 20 contestants in a series of follow up interviews and deep vetting of their online personas.

The chosen 20 contestants will then meet to undergo a challenging bootcamp supervised by the Judges, aiming to test the contestants on a wide range of skills and competencies. This two-week period will allow the judges to pick their favorite nine contestants that will make it to the Sadeem Hub – the main phase of the competition – before three contestants advance to the final round, where they showcase all the skills they’ve learned throughout their journey.

To follow the show in real-time, and watch their favorite contestants go from ‘Zero to Hero’, viewers from across the Arab world can tune in to Sadeem’s daily and weekly episodes that will be broadcasted on Social platforms. The show will be hosted by Tima Shomali, Jordan’s Youtube celebrity and Lebanon’s king of velfies Issam Merheb.

The competition will culminate in a Live Finale, broadcasted on Digital platforms, where Sadeem’s winner will be crowned and win 1 Million Riyals in addition to a trip to the headquarters of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram in San Francisco.