A PRIVATE INITIATIVE TO DEVELOP CULTURE

Led by Maroc Cultures, a non-profit association, Mawazine Rhythms of the World is a key player in Morocco’s cultural landscape. Every year, it enables millions of people to attend shows, take part in training workshops, or experience brand-new creative performances. By placing accessibility at its core and striking a balance between quality and popular appeal, Mawazine has grown into a festival with a strong civic dimension — offering a genuine alternative in a country where the music industry is largely absent, where the market suffers from piracy, and where the Ministry of Culture operates with limited budgets.

In fact, Mawazine is today one of the only festivals in the world to receive no public funding whatsoever. This achievement is the result of a long evolution that has allowed Mawazine to become an almost entirely self-sufficient festival. To address the shortcomings of Morocco’s cultural landscape, Mawazine developed an economic model that progressively reduces the role of sponsorship and eliminates all public funding.

A FESTIVAL LESS DEPENDENT ON SPONSORS

Variable revenues (ticketing, passes, advertising spaces, etc.) now account for 68% of Mawazine’s total budget, significantly reducing its reliance on private sponsors. In 2012, Mawazine took a further step by suspending all public and semi-public sponsors that had previously supported the festival.

In 2019, Mawazine’s economic model was based on a budget drawn from:

• 32% from private sponsors
• 68% from variable revenues

This success is the result of an evolution that began in 2008, when the festival started reducing the share of its budget funded by public subsidies — which dropped from 6% to 0% of Mawazine’s total budget. As a direct consequence, the growth in variable revenues made it possible to offer free admission to the vast majority of festival-goers. Today, more than ever, Mawazine is a people’s festival whose financial independence is secured by the success of each and every edition.

CONSTANTLY EVOLVING ECONOMIC MODELS

2001 – 2005 — PREDOMINANTLY PUBLIC FUNDING 60% public subsidies / 40% public, semi-public and private sponsors

2006 – 2007 — INTRODUCTION OF TICKETING 5% ticketing / 57% public subsidies / 38% public, semi-public and private sponsors

2008 – 2010 — DECLINE IN PUBLIC SUBSIDIES 6% public subsidies / 34% public, semi-public and private sponsors / 60% variable revenues

FROM 2011 — END OF PUBLIC SUBSIDIES 32% private sponsors / 68% variable revenues