The Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca is hosting the event, according to Al-Madina website.
Organized by the Saudi ministry of Islamic affairs, Dawah and guidance, the preliminary round of the King Abdul Aziz Quran Award kicked off on Saturday.
It will run for three days with the contenders competing in the morning and afternoon sessions.
Quran memorization, recitation and Tafseer (interpretation) are the categories of the competition.
Top winners of this stage will make it to the finals.
A total of 146 Quran memorizers and reciters from 103 countries took part in the 41st edition of the contest, which was held in 2019.
The Quranic event was called off in the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
4084608