Mawazine ( ar, موازين, mawāzīn, meaning "rhythms of the world") is a Moroccan International

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

held annually in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

, featuring many international and local music artists. The festival is presided over by Mounir Majidi, the personal secretary of the Moroccan King

Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to: * Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902 * Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922 * Mohammed VI of Morocco (born 1963), King of Morocco since 19 ...

and founder and president of Maroc Culture, the cultural foundation that organizes Mawazine and other events. The 2013 festival was attended by an estimated 2.5 million people, making Mawazine the largest festival in the world after

Donauinselfest The ''Donauinselfest'' (German for " Danube Island Festival") is a free open-air music festival which occurs annually at Donauinsel in Vienna, Austria. The festival is hosted by SPÖ Wien. It is the largest open-air music festival in the wor ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. With 90 acts on 7 stages it has the highest ratio of attendees per stage in the world. Mawazine is one of several events which are intended to promote an image of

as a tolerant nation, and a post on the event's website declares that the goal of the festival is to promote Rabat as a city open to the world. It has nonetheless sparked controversy, and some Moroccan politicians have criticised the event for "encouraging immoral behaviour," as well as critiquing its purported financing by Moroccan state-owned companies or private companies whose only client is the Moroccan state. Artists such as

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

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Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

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Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

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, Scorpions,

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French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first re ...

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David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

DJ Snake William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is an Algerian French music producer and DJ, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called " Turn D ...

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, Chic,

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Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

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, B.B. King,

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and Travis Scott have performed at Mawazine.

History

The festival has known two eras. The first spanned between 2001 and 2007, when it was dedicated to the

music of the world Music of the World is a World music record label that was active from 1982 to 2000. The company produced over 100 CDs and cassettes of traditional and contemporary artists from around the world. Nomad and Latitudes were imprint labels. ''Music o ...

genre. The event had some financial difficulties and was struggling to find sponsors. The second era, which started in 2008, has seen Mounir Majidi, the personal secretary of the Moroccan King, take over the event. During this period, the festival started programming more mainstream music, and has become much stronger financially with many sponsorships from large Moroccan businesses. The press reported that the list of artists performing in the event is validated by Mohammed VI.

Funding controversy

In Morocco, the funding of the festival has often been the target of criticism. According to critics, the festival has been funded through state-owned companies such as CDG, OCP,

ONCF ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway op ...

and Royal Air Maroc, money which they deem can be better spent in sectors such as health/education/unemployment. In 2011, the management of Mawazine declared that budget of the festival is around 62 million Dirhams, of which 27 million is provided by sponsors and 35 million from revenues of the event. They added that only 4 million dirham is given by Rabat's city council. JLEC (Jorf Lasfar Energy Company), a Morocco-based subsidiary of

Taqa The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, PJSC (TAQA) is a government controlled energy holding company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. TAQA (Arabic for Energy) is one of Abu Dhabi's flagship companies and as such has an important role to play ...

, appeared in 2010 as a major sponsor of the event on the festival's official website. In January 2011, Peter Barker-Homek, CEO of Taqa between 2006 and October 2009, declared in a letter sent to the

Securities Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

, that he was instructed to donate $5 million/year to Hassan Bouhemou, CEO of

SNI SNI may refer to: Science and technology * Substitution nucleophilic internal, a chemistry reaction mechanism * Swedish Standard Industrial Classification, a Swedish economic classification system * Server Name Indication, an extension to the ...

(

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

controlled by the Moroccan royal family), the sum was allegedly going to fund the music festival. In the letter Barker states that he was unconvinced of the utility of such donation, and inquired Taqa's Chairman al-Suwaidi about it, the latter stated that in return for the payment Taqa would get the green light to expand its energy plant in the country. JLEC holds a 30 years contract with Morocco's main electricity distributor ONE, and supplies as much as 50% of the country's electricity needs according to its management. Hassan Bouhemou, denied being involved in any way in the organisation of the festival or its management and Aziz Daki director of the festival declared that the amounts reported by Barker are incorrect. According to Telquel JLEC donated 10 million Dirhams to Mawazine, replacing Emirati firm Maabar as a major sponsor of the event in 2010.

2009 stampede

Eleven people were killed and forty were injured in a

stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...

at the "Hay Nahda stadium" during the festival shortly after midnight on 24 May 2009. The incident occurred when spectators attempted to leave in a hurry near the end of a free concert by Moroccan star

Abdelaziz Stati Abdelaziz al-'Arbaoui (), commonly known as Stati (), is a Moroccan singer born in Laaounate, Sidi Bennour Province in 1961. His name "Stati" comes from the fact that he has a sixth finger on his left hand. Mawazine stampede A stampede broke ...

. A wire fence collapsed during this attempt, endangering the lives of the 70,000 spectators. The concert had begun at 23:00, later than billed, and this caused people attending other concerts, including one by Stevie Wonder, to go to the stadium when their concerts were finished. Eight of the victims were seriously injured. Five of the dead were women, four were men and two were teenagers. They were all discovered after the stampede had completed and found to have been crushed by suffocation. Survivors had to be pulled from the wreckage by rescuers. The dead were all Moroccan. Seven people were still in hospital the following day. Hassan Lamrani, the Governor of Rabat, blamed concert-goers for the stampede, saying that they had "decided to go over the metal barriers to have a quick exit". There were 3,000 police on duty at the event. Maroc Cultures issued a statement to express "its great sorrow", extending "its profound and sincere condolences" to those affected by the tragedy.

King Mohammed VI Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...

also sent the families of those affected messages of condolence and offered to pay for funeral services and hospital costs. Morocco's interior ministry has announced it will investigate the incident.

2008

Mawazine was attended by 1.2 million people and was located in nine venues across Rabat. The festival featured many artists from all around the globe, including

, Goran Bregovic,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

Hoba Hoba Spirit Hoba Hoba Spirit is a musical fusion band based in Casablanca, Morocco that was formed in 1998. It is composed of Adil Hanine (drummer), Anouar Zehouani (guitarist), Saâd Bouidi (Bass guitar), Reda Allali - (vocalist and guitarist) and Othmane H ...

, Tony Allen and

Issac Delgado Issac Delgado (born Isaac Felipe Delgado-Ramirez on April 11, 1962 in Marianao, Habana, Cuba) is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular salsa and timba performer. Early life and family His father, Luis Delgado, was a ta ...

2009

The 2009 festival, a nine-day event entitled "Rhythms of the World", was the eighth edition and began on 15 May, attracting crowds of one million people from cities such as

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, Fez and

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

to Rabat. Admission cost between 100 and 500

dirham The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab world, Arab and Arabization, Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass. Unit of ...

s (15 to 70

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

). 1700 performers performed in 2009. The opening three days featured acts such as

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominenc ...

Cheb Khaled Cheb (; german: Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. Before the 1945 expulsion of the German-speaking population, the town was the centre of the German ...

Najwa Karam Najwa Karam ( ar, نجوى كرم, , born 26 February 1966) is a Lebanese singer, songwriter, producer, fashion icon, one of the best selling recording artist in the middle east with more than 60 million records worldwide. Known as the "Sun of ...

Warda Al-Jazairia Warda Al-Jazairia ( ar, وردة الجزائرية; born Warda Mohammed Ftouki (); 22 July 1939 – 17 May 2012) was an Algerian singer. She was well known for her Egyptian Arabic songs and music. Her name was sometimes shortened to just Warda ( ...

Ali Campbell Alistair Ian Campbell (born 15 February 1959) is an English singer and songwriter who was lead singer of the British reggae band UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records worldwide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008, C ...

(formerly of

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

), and

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...

of White Zulu. Other musical acts to feature include

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Amadou & Mariam Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the Bamako-born couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born 15 April 1958). Their album '' Welcome To Mali'' (2008) was nominated ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n musician Eliades Ochoa, The Joubran Trio, three brothers from Palestine, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian ensemble Eshtiaq. The festival opened with a concert by

, accompanied by a Moroccan choir with ninety members, on the Bouregreg stage. This was followed by a Kylie Minogue performance on the OLM Souissi stage. Khaled's concert was attended by 50,000 people, whilst 40,000 and 30,000 attendance figures were registered for Kylie Minogue and Warda respectively. Stevie Wonder closed the festival on 23 May.

's performance was the first in

; it attracted about 60,000 spectators. Warda Al-Jazairia was granted the "Wissam Royal".

2010

The ninth edition of Mawazine took place from 21 May to 29 May 2010.

and B.B. King performed at the OLM Souissi stage on 26 and 27 May respectively.

performed on 23 May.

closed the 10-day festival with a performance on Saturday, 29 May 2010. Other performers at the 10-day festival included

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

, Harry Connick Jr.,

Thievery Corporation Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

, Deolinda,

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...

and

. The festival also brought famous Arab singers such as

Tamer Hosny Tamer is a Turkish given name and surname. It means ''Competent soldier'' in Turkish. In Arabic (written as تامر), the name is more closely related to Tamr (as in dates). Persons Given name * Tamer Abdel Hamid, Egyptian football player * Tamer ...

, Elissa,

Wael Jassar Wael Jassar ( ar, وائل جسّار; born 22 November 1976) is a Lebanese singer. Discography *''Kelmet Wada’a Beta’zebne'' *''Saat Baqoul'' *''Meshit kalass'' *''Eldonia Allimitny'' *''Metgarrinbin'' *''Zay Elaasal'' *''Fi Hadrat al Mahb ...

Majida El Roumi Majida El Roumi Baradhy ( ar, ماجدة الرومي برادعي; born 13 December 1956) is a Lebanese soprano singer and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Early life Majida El Roumi Al Baradhy was born on 13 December 1956 in Kfarshi ...

Myriam Fares Myriam Fares ( ar, ميريام فارس , ; born 3 May 1983) is a Lebanese singer, actress, and entertainer. Personal life Fares, born in Kfar Chellal, Sidon District to a Maronite Christian family, married a Lebanese-American businessman ...

Rami Ayach Ramy Abu Ayach ( ar, رامي ابوعياش, born August 18, 1980) is a Lebanese singer, composer, and actor. Commonly referred to as the "Pop Star" in the Arab world for his impact and contribution to the contemporary Arab music scene and Pop ...

. The Generation Mawazine competition launches the music career of promising young talent. This artistic competition, which has been run since 2006 as a fringe activity to the festival, sets out to find the talent of tomorrow and offers them a major springboard into the music business. Open to all styles of music, this competition gives the stage to new young talents and is judged along 3 predefined categories: rap/hip hop, fusion/neo pop and electronic music. This initiative gives unknown bands the opportunity to perform in front of the general public and media in a professional setting. The winning groups see their career launched in Morocco, produce an album and perform at the following year's festival as established artists.

2011

The tenth edition was held from 20 May to 28 May 2011 at the OLM Souissi. The show was opened on the Friday with traditional and international performers. Notable performances which followed were

and Spaniard Ivica pica on the 21st and the English girl group

on the 22nd. The following days saw legends like

Yusuf Islam Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

take on the big stage. The event was again lightened when it had

alongside Swiss DJ and producer

Yves Larock Yves Cheminade (; born 18 July 1977 in Neuchâtel), better known by the stage name Yves Larock (), is a Swiss DJ and record producer. He is a member of Africanism All Stars. Biography His single " Rise Up", featuring vocals by Jaba, was a popul ...

on the last day. Shakira's performance has gained over 200,000 audiences

2012

The eleventh edition was held from 18 May to 26 May 2012 at the OLM Souissi as well as other stages on

. The show was opened on the Friday with

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Le ...

during their Sorry For Party Rocking Tour. Also other following performances by

(

Planet Pit World Tour ''Planet Pit'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Pitbull. It was released on June 17, 2011, through Polo Grounds Music, Mr. 305 Entertainment, Sony Music, and J Records. The production on the album was handled by a variety of pop a ...

(

Evanescence Tour The Evanescence Tour was the third worldwide concert tour by American rock band Evanescence. Staged in support of their eponymous third studio album and comprising a set list of songs from that and their two previous albums, ''Fallen'' (2003) an ...

), Scorpions (

Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour Scorpions are a German rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock, heavy metal and glam metal to soft rock. The lineup from 1978 to 1992 was the m ...

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, Khaled,

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits " I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of " Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

(in Mohammed V theatre),

who spent his birthday on stage, and without forgetting the epic finale: The historical performance by the American diva

(exclusive concert "doesn't belong to any of her tours"). House DJs were

Yolanda Be Cool Yolanda Be Cool are an Australian music duo made up of Andrew Stanley and Matthew Handley. Biography In 2010, they collaborated with Australian producer DCUP (real name Duncan MacLennan) to release an international single " We No Speak American ...

and DJ Abdel.

2013

Mawazine took place from 24 May to 1 June. International stars in OLM Souissi stage :

opened the festival as a part of her Diamonds World Tour; she made history by performing to one of the largest crowds of all time, performing in front of 150,000 people. This was a standoff with the Shakira's 2011 performance in terms of the number of audiences. Other artists included

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

( Nice to Meet You Tour),

MIKA Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

Sexion d'Assaut Sexion d'Assaut (), formerly known as 3ème Prototype (for "Troisième Prototype" ; en, "3rd Prototype"), is a French hip hop band formed in 2002, composed of eight Parisian rappers. They are signed to independent record label Wati B, which i ...

(

Unity Tour Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a ...

( Now What? World Tour),

during his (Enrique Iglesias India Tour) featuring the Moroccan-Swedish pop star

Loreen Loreen may refer to: *Loreen (singer), Swedish singer *Loreen Rice Lucas (1914–2011), a Canadian author * "Loreen" (song), 1986 song by German singer Sandra See also *Loren (disambiguation) *Lorene Lorene is a given name. Notable people with the n ...

, R&B singer

Cee-Lo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

and

Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 200 ...

. Arab (oriental) stars in Nahda stage : Day 1) Walid Taoufic. Day 2) Mouhcine Salahdine, Sherine Abdel Wahab, Farid Ghennam. Day 3) Bouchra Khalid,

Mohamed Mounir Mohamed Mounir ( ar, محمد منير; born October 10, 1954) is an Egyptian singer and actor, with a musical career spanning more than four decades. He incorporates various genres into his music, including classical Egyptian music, Nubian mus ...

. Day 4) Rabab,

Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati ( ar, محمد خليفاتي, ), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami ( ar, شاب مامي, link=no, , born 11 July 1966), is an Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and someti ...

. Day 5) Abed,

. Day 6) Zakaria Ghafouli,

Assi El Hellani Mohammed Muzen El Hallani ( ar, محمد مزين الحلاني), widely known as Assi El Hallani; born November 28, 1970), is a Lebanese singer and actor. El Helani's musical career started after winning Studio Al Fan, a TV program for young a ...

, Mourad Bouriki. Day 7)

Shada Hassoun Shatha Amjad Al-Hassoun ( ar, شذى أمجد الحسون; born 3 March 1981 in Casablanca, Morocco), better known as Shatha Hassoun ( ar, شذى حسون), is a Moroccan-Iraqi singer who rose to fame as the winner of the 4th season of the pan ...

, Ahlam. Day 8) Hatim Ammor, Houda Saad. Day 8) Leila Al Maghribiya,

Ahmed Chawki Ahmed Chawki ( ar, أحمد شوقي; born 31 May 1982), known professionally by his stage name Chawki, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter and producer. Chawki began his career in the early 2000s. He had a music band named La Paloma which mainly fo ...

, Tamer Housni. Moroccan scene in

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...

stage : Siham, Jil Ghiwan Jalal, Ghiwane Salwan, LooNope, Jbara, Mjid Bekkas, Aouatif, Mohamed Anbari, Fatim Zahra Laaroussi, Atika Ammar, Numedia et Mallal, Izenzaren Abdelhadi, M.boy, Barry, Casa Crew, Hamid Kasri, Chaht Man, H-Kayne, Don Bigg, Ben Moussa,

Hajib A ''hajib'' or ''hadjib'' ( ar, الحاجب, al-ḥājib, to block, the prevent someone from entering somewhere; It is a word "hajb" meaning to cover, to hide. It means "the person who prevents a person from entering a place, the doorman". The ...

, Rachid Lamrini, Mohammed Iskandar, Najat Atabou, Tarik Laamirat, Said Mouskir, Hamid Hadri. Other stars in so many other stages : Haj Youness, Amir Ali, Leila Lamrini, Tinariwen, African United, Gnawa Diffusion, Amadou & Meriem, Blitz The Ambassador,

, Bond Girls, Sandra Nkaké,

Lotfi Bouchnak Lotfi Bouchnak ( aeb, لطفي بوشناق, Bosnian: Lutfi Bošnjak) (born January 18, 1954) is a Tunisian singer, oud player, composer and public figure. He is considered one of the best tenors in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arab w ...

, Abdelwahab Doukkali, Patrizia Laquidara, Ensemble Dragon.

2014

Mawazine was held this year from 30 May until 7 June. Many artists performed starting with

, for the opening (

The 20/20 Experience World Tour The 20/20 Experience World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was launched in support of his third and fourth studio albums, ''The 20/20 Experience'' (2013) and '' The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2'' ...

) on 30 May which marked his first performance in Morocco,

Jason Derülo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

as part of

Tattoos World Tour Tattoos World Tour was a world tour by R&B and pop singer Jason Derulo. It was his second headlining world tour and his first headlining tour since he broke a vertebra in January 2012 while rehearsing for his Future History World Tour, leading t ...

on 31 May, the mythic French hip-hop group

IAM IAM may refer to: Concepts * Identity and access management, a concept that combines business processes, policies and technologies * Indo-Aryan migration, the theory that speakers of Indo-Aryan languages migrated into the Indian subcontinent dur ...

on 1 June, the Belgian house producer and singer

promoting his new album Racine Carrée on 2 June,

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

on 3 June, the R&B sensation Ne-Yo on 4 June.

the former vocalist of one of the best rock bands ever

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

with his new founded band The Sensational Space Shifters on 5 June, the Latino icon

on 6 June, and the finale of this season the strong-voiced R&B diva

on 7 June.

2015

This year's edition of Mawazine Festival is set to new records of attendance. 160,000 people attended the concert of American singer

at the opening of the festival, and 180,000 people attended

concert on Saturday, May 30. The concert of DJ

attracted over 200,000 festival-goers, on Monday, June 1 at the OLM Soussi stage of Rabat, as part of the 14th Mawazine Festival-Rhythms of the World, according to the organizers.

2016

The 15th edition of Mawazine took place from 20 May to 28 May 2016. American singer

and Australian rapper

both performed at the OLM Souissi stage on 20 and 21 May respectively.

performed for 130 000 fans, and Saad Lamjerrad performed for 140 000 people in the Nahda stage. The Dutch DJ

also performed in the festival for 180 000 people. The vocalist

broke record with having over 250,000 people attend and she closed the festival on May 28.

2017

The 16th edition of Mawazine took place on 12 May to 20 May 2017. ;Line-ups ;Set lists

2018

The 17th edition of Mawazine took place on 22 to 30 June 2018. ;Line-ups ;Set lists

2019

The 18th edition of Mawazine took place on 21 to 29 June 2019. ;Line-ups

2020

The 19th Edition of Mawazine was scheduled to take place from 19 to 27 June 2020, but was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

References

External links

Official site
{{coord, 34, 01, 31, N, 6, 50, 10, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title 2009 in Morocco Music festivals in Morocco Tourist attractions in Morocco World music festivals Rabat Corruption in Morocco Entertainment events in Morocco Electronic music festivals in Morocco Music festivals established in 2001 Spring (season) events in Morocco