<\/p>\n
It was on 18 May 2002 that the performance of the Diablada set the tone for the Mawazine Rhythms of the World Festival. Through their vibrant and colourful street performance, the Bolivian troupe raised the curtain on a new event and gave festival-goers hope of accessing an unprecedented plurality of cultures. From that day on, the Festival and its organisers committed to offering the Moroccan public a cultural programme of international scope, high quality, and broad appeal.<\/p>\n
More than twenty years later, the Maroc Cultures Association continues to honour this promise by organising what has become, over the years, the second largest festival in the world. This achievement would not have been possible without a set of core principles and values championed by Maroc Cultures, outlined below.<\/p>\n
The primary mission of the Mawazine \u2013 Rhythms of the World Festival, as set out when the Maroc Cultures Association was founded, is to “guarantee the audiences of the Rabat-Sal\u00e9-Zemmour-Za\u00ebrs Region a cultural and artistic programme of an eminently professional standard, worthy of the Kingdom’s capital.” To this end, the Festival makes it a point of honour to respect the tastes, desires and preferences of every audience member. Rich and eclectic, its programme brings together major names from the Moroccan and pan-Arab scene, internationally renowned stars, and celebrated interpreters of the world’s principal musical traditions. Alongside concerts, the event is also a space for original musical creations and extraordinary street performances. Furthermore, the Festival constantly works to foster cross-cultural encounters by inviting quality artists from around the world \u2014 no fewer than 97 countries have been represented since its founding. Through a diversity of styles and personalities from every background, whether emerging talents or established stars, the Mawazine \u2013 Rhythms of the World Festival reflects contemporary creation in all its forms.<\/p>\n
Particular attention is given to ensuring that the Moroccan public can access the concerts and events organised by the Association. With free admission to 90% of concerts, the Mawazine Rhythms of the World Festival supports equal access to culture for all Moroccans. This commitment is reinforced by the presence of 6 stages spread across a wide area in both Rabat and Sal\u00e9, in order to reach as many people as possible.<\/p>\n
The various Festival sites are also designed to optimise accessibility for all audiences, enabling them to experience Mawazine in its entirety. The Maroc Cultures Association makes it a priority to ensure that all types of audiences can fully enjoy the shows. To this end, elevated platforms with access ramps for people with reduced mobility are installed at the main sites, along with a comprehensive support system covering reception, security, and adapted facilities.<\/p>\n
Through its festive and high-quality cultural character, the Festival attracts a large, open and receptive audience. The goal of the Festival’s safety and health teams is to provide the best possible conditions of comfort and security for all festival-goers. To allow audiences to enjoy the concerts as comfortably and safely as possible, the Festival operates in accordance with applicable international standards. Stages, installations, circulation corridors, emergency exits, and all public-facing infrastructure benefit from optimal safety conditions, along with the daily presence of law enforcement, civil protection services, and health services.<\/p>\n
The cornerstone of the Festival is undeniably the city of Rabat which, for over a decade, has been the setting for a multitude of shows staged in diverse ways across a variety of distinct backdrops. Far from being a mere spectator, Rabat plays a major role in the Festival’s success by making its streets, historic monuments and iconic cultural landmarks available to the event. By hosting this unique occasion, the city \u2014 a UNESCO World Heritage Site \u2014 transforms each year into a vast open-air stage, promoting the authenticity of the capital’s history while contributing to the creation of a modern, open Morocco.<\/p>\n
Mawazine’s impact extends well beyond the entertainment industry. In total, 5,000 direct and indirect jobs benefit from the Festival. Since 2011, Mawazine has generated a 22% growth in Rabat’s tourism revenue.<\/p>\n
Three sectors benefit from the Mawazine effect through significant revenue growth. Retail, catering and transport see their revenues grow by an average of 30% during the festival period \u2014 making the festival a major source of activity for local businesses.<\/p>\n
During the Festival, hotels experience an average revenue increase of +22%. Occupancy rates reach 100% for 4- and 5-star establishments and 63% for other hotel categories \u2014 two to four times higher than normal.<\/p>\n
Showcasing Morocco also means putting its artists in the spotlight. Mawazine is a vital platform for hundreds of artists who have few opportunities to express their talent, and who, thanks to such a prestigious Festival, gain worldwide recognition. Mawazine is the only festival in the country to dedicate nearly half of its programme to the finest representatives of Moroccan music, with a 100% Moroccan stage on Sal\u00e9 Beach.<\/p>\n
Accomplished stars such as RedOne and Nass El Ghiwane, alongside emerging talents from the new Moroccan scene such as Zouheir Bahaoui and Cravata, perform on the Festival’s stages and offer audiences a rare experience. This presence is built through unique creations that celebrate musical fusion between Moroccan and international artists. Many international artists have collaborated on landmark creations that have remained etched in the memory:<\/p>\n
In a quiet but meaningful way, the Maroc Cultures Association supports several socio-cultural causes. Since 2013, an incentive policy in favour of people with disabilities has been in place, materialised through the provision of dozens of free tickets to associations working towards the social and educational inclusion of people with disabilities.<\/p>\n
Mawazine also serves as a vehicle for Morocco’s cultural model on the world stage, promoting the values the Kingdom stands for: tolerance, exchange and diversity. This is why the Festival has always offered a programme that embraces all the world’s cultures. It is also for this reason that the Festival organised, in 2011, the “Voices of Peace” concert \u2014 initiated in response to the Marrakech bombing. The concert brought together nearly 45,000 people at the city’s motor racing circuit for seven hours of music featuring international stars (Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Mory Kant\u00e9, etc.) and Moroccan artists (Nass El Ghiwane, Hajja Hamdaouiya, Saida Charaf, etc.). On that occasion, Maroc Cultures donated a cheque of 3,500,000 dirhams to the families of the Moroccan and foreign victims.<\/p>\n
Since 2012, the Mawazine Rhythms of the World Festival has been one of the only Moroccan events to receive no public funding, thanks to the development of a reliable and sustainable economic model. Variable revenues (ticketing, passes, advertising spaces, etc.) now account for 68% of Mawazine’s total budget, significantly reducing its reliance on private sponsors. This achievement is the result of an evolution spanning over eleven years, which has allowed Mawazine to become almost entirely self-sufficient.<\/p>\n
Today, more than ever, Mawazine is a free, civic event whose financial independence is secured by the success of each edition, the loyalty of its audiences, and the enduring support of its partners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was on 18 May 2002 that the performance of the Diablada set the tone for the Mawazine Rhythms of the World Festival. Through their vibrant and colourful street performance, the Bolivian troupe raised the curtain on a new event and gave festival-goers hope of accessing an unprecedented plurality of cultures. From that day on, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":60,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-76","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11994,"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions\/11994"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mawazine.dev-dprgroup.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}