"DIE ZEIT" recently called him a political entertainer. That describes him quite well, but still falls short. Michel Abdollahi is a poetry slam mentor, emcee, performance artist and writer. Above all, however, he is a polite, humorous, committed and political person. He is characterized by interest, empathy and good manners. Three qualities that are also important to him in his role as host. He treats his guests politely, wants to talk to them and not argue. Nevertheless, he asks questions, demands answers and always keeps things formal.born in Iran and moved to Germany in 1986, he considers himself a German-Iranian and a staunch Hamburg resident. He studied law, Islamic studies and Iranian studies. He has been working as a special reporter for NDR since 2014. In January 2016, he received the German Television Award for his film report "Im Nazidorf" ("Panorama - Die Reporter"). He has also been active in the German poetry slam scene since 2000, is co-founder of the "Kampf der Künste" event series and a social media personality. The NDR program "Panorama - Die Show", which he hosts, received a Grimme Award nomination. In April 2017, Abdollahi was awarded the Gustaf Gründgens Prize.
In his laudatory speech, Michael Göring, Chairman of the Board of the "ZEIT-Stiftung", emphasized Abdollahi's achievement in inspiring a cross-generational audience for a new performing art form and, above all, giving young people access to language, poetry and theater.
"The gentleman journalist" (Anja Reschke, Panorama, ARD)
"A quick-witted journalist and artist" (Henning Sussebach, ZEIT, 12.5.17)