Mawazine
Encyclopedia
Mawazine is a festival of world music
that takes place annually in the Moroccan capital of Rabat
, featuring Arab and international music icons. There have many Mawazines since the beginning in 2001.
Mawazine is one of several events which are intended to promote an image of Morocco
as a tolerant nation, with a post on the event's website declaring that the festival intends to promote and "support Rabat, as a city open to the world". However, it is controversial as some of the country's Muslim
politicians have criticised the event for also "encouraging immoral behaviour". Artists such as Najwa Karam
, Stevie Wonder
, Kylie Minogue
and Alicia Keys
have performed at Mawazine.
Mawazine is organised by Maroc Cultures.
The festival featured many artists from all around the globe, including Whitney Houston
, Juanes
, Goran Bregovic
, George Benson
, Hoba Hoba Spirit
, Tony Allen
and Issac Delgado
.
, Marrakech
, Fez
and Tangiers to Rabat. Admission cost between 100 and 500 dirham
s (15 to 70 USD). 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
(formerly of UB40
), and Johnny Clegg of White Zulu. Other musical acts to feature include Mali
's Amadou & Mariam
, Cuba
n musician Eliades Ochoa
, The Joubran Trio, three brothers from Palestine
, and Iran
ian 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.
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
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.
and B.B. King performed at the OLM Souissi stage on the 26th and the 27th of May respectively. Julio Iglesias
performed on 23 May. Sting closed the 10-day festival with a performance on Saturday, 29 May 2010. Other performers at the 10-day festival included Mika
, Harry Connick Jr., Thievery Corporation
, Al Jarreau
, Deolinda
, Angélique Kidjo
and Carlos Santana
.
The festival also brought famous Arab singers such as Najwa Karam
, Tamer Hosny
, Elissa
, Wael Jassar
, Majida El Roumi
, Myriam Fares
, Rami Ayach.
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.
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
that takes place annually in the Moroccan capital of Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, featuring Arab and international music icons. There have many Mawazines since the beginning in 2001.
Mawazine is one of several events which are intended to promote an image of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
as a tolerant nation, with a post on the event's website declaring that the festival intends to promote and "support Rabat, as a city open to the world". However, it is controversial as some of the country's Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
politicians have criticised the event for also "encouraging immoral behaviour". Artists such as Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam is a Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Lebanese Arab recording artist and Philanthropist. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical and political limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
and Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
have performed at Mawazine.
Mawazine is organised by Maroc Cultures.
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 Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
, Goran Bregovic
Goran Bregovic
Goran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...
, George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
, Hoba Hoba Spirit
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 , Anouar Zehouani , Saâd Bouidi , Reda Allali - and Othmane Hmimar. The name of the group is based on a song by Bob Marley.Hoba Hoba Spirit's musical style mixes Rock,...
, Tony Allen
Tony Allen (musician)
Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
and Issac Delgado
Issac Delgado
This article is about the musician; for the New Orleans philanthropist with a similar name, see Isaac DelgadoIssac Delgado 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 tailor and his mother,...
.
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 CasablancaCasablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, Fez
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
and Tangiers to Rabat. Admission cost between 100 and 500 dirham
Dirham
Dirham or dirhem is a unit of currency in several Arab or Berber nations, and formerly the related unit of mass in the Ottoman Empire and Persian states...
s (15 to 70 USD). 1700 performers performed in 2009.
The opening three days featured acts such as Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, K'naan
K'naan
K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
, Hoba Hoba Spirit
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 , Anouar Zehouani , Saâd Bouidi , Reda Allali - and Othmane Hmimar. The name of the group is based on a song by Bob Marley.Hoba Hoba Spirit's musical style mixes Rock,...
, Cheb Khaled, Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam is a Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Lebanese Arab recording artist and Philanthropist. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical and political limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its...
, Warda Al-Jazairia
Warda Al-Jazairia
Warda Al-Jazairia , commonly referred to as just Warda , is a French-born Algerian singer. She is well known in the Arabic music community for her Egyptian songs and music.-Biography:...
, Ali Campbell
Ali Campbell
Ali Campbell, , is a British singer, solo artist and songwriter and was the lead singer and founding member of UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records world wide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008 Campbell left UB40 and embarked on a successful solo career.-Personal...
(formerly of UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
), and Johnny Clegg of White Zulu. Other musical acts to feature include Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
's Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n musician Eliades Ochoa
Eliades Ochoa
Eliades Ochoa is a Cuban guitarist and singer from Loma de la Avispa, Songo La Maya in the east of the country near Santiago de Cuba....
, The Joubran Trio, three brothers from Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian ensemble Eshtiaq.
The festival opened with a concert by Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, 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
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
closed the festival on 23 May.
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam is a Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Lebanese Arab recording artist and Philanthropist. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical and political limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its...
's performance was the first in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
; it attracted about 60,000 spectators. Warda Al Jazairia was granted the Wissam Royal.
Stampede
Eleven people were killed and forty were injured in a stampede at the Hay Nahda soccer 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 pop 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 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 of Morocco
Mohammed VI is the present King of Morocco and Amir al-Mu'minin . He ascended to the throne on 23 July 1999 upon the death of his father.-Education:...
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.
2010
The ninth edition of Mawazine took place from 21 May to 29 May 2010. Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and B.B. King performed at the OLM Souissi stage on the 26th and the 27th of May respectively. Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
performed on 23 May. Sting closed the 10-day festival with a performance on Saturday, 29 May 2010. Other performers at the 10-day festival included Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
, Harry Connick Jr., Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca...
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
, Deolinda
Deolinda
Deolinda is a Portuguese quartet band founded in 2006 when brothers Pedro da Silva Martins and Luis José Martins invited their cousin, Ana Bacalhau, who was then singing with the band Lupanar, to sing four songs they had written. When they realized that her voice perfectly fit their songs they...
, Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...
and Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
.
The festival also brought famous Arab singers such as Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam is a Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Lebanese Arab recording artist and Philanthropist. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical and political limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its...
, Tamer Hosny
Tamer Hosny
Tamer Hosny is an Egyptian singer, actor, composer, director, producer and songwriter. Hosny first came to attention when he appeared on mix tapes with other Egyptian artists...
, Elissa
Elissa (singer)
Elissar Zakaria Khoury simply known as Elissa is a Lebanese singer. She is known for her collaborations with well-known Arab and international artists, notably Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris DeBurgh and Gerard Ferrer.Born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother , her debut was in...
, Wael Jassar
Wael Jassar
Wael Jassar is a Lebanese pan-Arab singer born 22 November 1972. Dubbed the 'Miracle Child' when he was a youngster, he appeared on television and sang "Yallee Ta’ebney Seneen Feh Hawak" when he was 8, fascinating the public...
, Majida El Roumi
Majida El Roumi
Magida El-Roumi was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer and a soprano, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan on Télé Liban and won the gold medal for best female singer...
, Myriam Fares
Myriam Fares
Myriam Fares is a Lebanese singer and entertainer.-Early life and beginnings:Myriam was born in Kafar Shlal, a small village in Southern Lebanon, near Kafarhata village, 5 miles east of Saida....
, Rami Ayach.
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.