RIYADH: The winners of the 27th annual King Salman bin Abdulaziz Award for the Memorization, Recitation and Interpretation of the Holy Qur’an will be honored during special ceremonies this week.

Prince Faisal bin Bandar, the governor of Riyadh Region, will attend the culmination of the men’s event, held under the patronage of King Salman, on Friday at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The awards ceremony for the women’s event, held under the patronage of Princess Fahda Al-Hathleen, spouse of King Salman, will take place at the same venue on Thursday.

The total prize pool for the competitions, which were organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance and took place between Feb. 13 and 17, is more than SR7 million ($1.87 million). Three winners will be crowned in each of the male and female categories.

Abdullatif Al-Alsheikh, the minister of Islamic affairs, dawah and guidance, who is also the general supervisor of local and international Qur’anic competitions in the Kingdom, said the contest has become one of the most notable competitions of its kind.