Mawazine
Mawazine is an international music festival held annually in Rabat, Morocco. The event features a wide range of international and local music artists across various genres. Mawazine is organized by Maroc Cultures, a cultural foundation founded and presided over by Mounir Majidi, the personal secretary of King Mohammed VI.
The 2025 festival was attended by 3.75 million people, making Mawazine the largest music festival in the world. With 90 acts on 7 stages, it has the highest ratio of attendees per stage in the world. Mawazine is considered Africa's largest and most important music festival.
Notable performers
| Artist | Genre | Year Performed |
| Mariah Carey | Pop/R&B | 2012 |
| Whitney Houston | Pop/R&B | 2008 |
| Stevie Wonder | Soul/Funk | 2009 |
| Rihanna | Pop/R&B | 2013 |
| Shakira | Pop/Latin | 2011 |
| Justin Timberlake | Pop/R&B | 2014 |
| Jennifer Lopez | Pop/Latin | 2015 |
| Alicia Keys | Pop/R&B | 2014 |
| Bruno Mars | Pop/Funk | 2018 |
| The Weeknd | R&B/Pop | 2018 |
| Nicki Minaj | Rap/Pop | 2024 |
| Enrique Iglesias | Pop/Latin | 2013 |
| Chris Brown | R&B/Pop | 2016 |
| Elton John | Pop/Rock | 2010 |
| Christina Aguilera | Pop | 2016 |
| Kanye West | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2011 |
| Karol G | Latin/Reggaeton | 2019 |
| Maluma | Latin/Reggaeton | 2019 |
| Travis Scott | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2019 |
| Camila Cabello | Pop | 2024 |
| Ricky Martin | Latin Pop | 2015 |
| Wiz Khalifa | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2017 |
| Marshmello | EDM | 2019 |
| Rosalía | Pop/Flamenco Fusion | 2019 |
| Calvin Harris | EDM/Pop | 2024 |
| J Balvin | Reggaeton/Latin | 2019 |
| Pharrell Williams | Pop/Funk | 2015 |
| Rod Stewart | Rock | 2017 |
| Usher | R&B/Pop | 2015 |
| Demi Lovato | Pop | 2017 |
| French Montana | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2018 |
| Luis Fonsi | Latin/Pop | 2018 |
| Nick Jonas | Pop | 2017 |
| Iggy Azalea | Pop/Rap | 2016 |
| Ellie Goulding | Pop | 2017 |
| Kylie Minogue | Pop | 2024 |
| Scorpions | Rock | 2012 |
| Future | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2019 |
| David Guetta | EDM | 2019 |
| DJ Snake | EDM | 2017 |
| Akon | R&B/Pop | 2015 |
| Pitbull | Rap/Latin Pop | 2016 |
| Avicii | EDM | 2015 |
| Central Cee | Rap/Drill | 2024 |
| Jason Derulo | Pop/R&B | 2014 |
| Migos | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2019 |
| The Chainsmokers | EDM/Pop | 2018 |
| Metro Boomin | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2024 |
| Jessie J | Pop | 2013 |
| Maroon 5 | Pop/Rock | 2015 |
| Saad Lamjarred | Moroccan Pop | 2015 |
| The Jacksons | Pop/Soul | 2013 |
| ATEEZ | K-Pop | 2024 |
| aespa | K-Pop | 2025 |
| Will Smith | Pop/Rap | 2025 |
| 50 Cent | Rap/Hip-Hop | 2025 |
| Kid Cudi | Rap/Pop | 2025 |
History
The festival has known two eras. The first spanned between 2001 and 2007, when it was dedicated to the music of the world 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 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, a Morocco-based subsidiary of Taqa, 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, that he was instructed to donate $5 million/year to Hassan Bouhemou, CEO of SNI, 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 crowd crush 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. 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 own 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 Amrani, the governor of Rabat at the time, blamed concert-goers for the disaster, 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 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.
2024 Return
After 3 years stoppage due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maroc Culture Association confirmed the return of the Mawazine festival in 2024 for its 19th edition.Editions
2008
Mawazine was attended by 1.2 million people and was located in nine venues across Rabat.The festival featured many artists from around the world, including Whitney Houston, Juanes, Goran Bregovic, George Benson, Hoba Hoba Spirit, Tony Allen and Issac Delgado.
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, Marrakesh, Fez and Tangiers to Rabat. Admission cost between 100 and 500 dirhams. 1700 performers performed in 2009.The opening three days featured acts such as Kylie Minogue, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, K'naan, Hoba Hoba Spirit, Cheb Khaled, Najwa Karam, Warda Al-Jazairia, Ali Campbell, and Johnny Clegg of White Zulu. Other musical acts to feature include Mali's Amadou & Mariam, Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa, The Joubran Trio, three brothers from Palestine, and Iranian ensemble Eshtiaq.
The festival opened with a concert by Ennio Morricone, 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.
Najwa Karam's performance was the first in Morocco; it attracted about 60,000 spectators. Warda Al-Jazairia was granted the "Wissam Royal".
| Setlist: Kylie Minogue |
Act 1: Xlectro Static
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