Mawazine: Difference between revisions
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{{infobox music festival |
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| music_festival_name = Mawazine |
| music_festival_name = Mawazine |
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| image = [[Image:Ennio_Morricone_Mawazine_Rabat.JPG|250px|Ennio Morricone at Mawazine]] |
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| location = [[Rabat]], [[Morocco]] |
| location = [[Rabat]], [[Morocco]] |
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Revision as of 11:07, 14 June 2011
| Mawazine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | World music |
| Dates | 21–29 May 2009 |
| Location(s) | Rabat, Morocco |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Founders | Maroc Cultures |
| Website | http://www.festivalmawazine.ma |
Mawazine ("Rhythms")[1] is a festival of world music that takes place annually in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, featuring Arab and international music icons. There have been eight Mawazines, with the ninth planned to take place from May 21 to May 29, 2010. Elton John and Sting will be headline acts among over 1,500 performances over the 10-day festival across various stages within the city of Rabat.
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".[2][3] However, it is controversial as some of the country's Muslim politicians have criticised the event for also "encouraging immoral behaviour".[2][4] Artists such as Najwa Karam, Stevie Wonder, Kylie Minogue and Alicia Keys have performed at Mawazine.
Mawazine is organised by Maroc Cultures.[3]
2001
Mawazine began in 2001.[3][1][5]
2008
Mawazine was attended by 1.2 million people and was located in nine venues across Rabat.[3][1]
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.
2009
The 2009 festival, a nine-day event entitled "Rhythms of the World",[6][2] was the eighth edition and began on 15 May,[6] attracting crowds of one million people from cities such as Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez and Tangiers to Rabat.[7][6] Admission cost between 100 and 500 dirhams (15 to 70 USD).[6] 1700 performers performed in 2009.[5]
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.[6] Other musical acts to feature include Mali's Amadou & Mariam,[7] Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa,[8] The Joubran Trio, three brothers from Palestine,[9] and Iranian ensemble Eshtiaq.[10]
The festival opened with a concert by Ennio Morricone, accompanied by a Moroccan choir with ninety members, on the Bouregreg stage.[6] This was followed by a Kylie Minogue performance on the OLM Souissi stage.[6] 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.[6] Stevie Wonder closed the festival on 23 May.[6]
Najwa Karam's performance was the first in Morocco; it attracted about 60,000 spectators. Warda Al Jazairia was granted the Wissam Royal.[6][7]
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.[2] The incident occurred when spectators attempted to leave in a hurry near the end of a free[3] concert by Moroccan pop star Abdelaziz Stati.[11] A wire fence collapsed during this attempt, endangering the lives of the 70,000 spectators.[11][2][4][12][5] 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.[3]
Eight of the victims were seriously injured.[11] Five of the dead were women, four were men and two were teenagers.[11][12] They were all discovered after the stampede had completed and found to have been crushed by suffocation.[3][1][12][5] Survivors had to be pulled from the wreckage by rescuers.[2] The dead were all Moroccan.[1] Seven people were still in hospital the following day.[12]
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".[2] There were 3,000 police on duty at the event.[3] Maroc Cultures issued a statement to express "its great sorrow", extending "its profound and sincere condolences" to those affected by the tragedy.[3] King Mohammed VI also sent the families of those affected messages of condolence and offered to pay for funeral services and hospital costs.[3] Morocco's interior ministry has announced it will investigate the incident.[3]
2010
The ninth edition of Mawazine took place from 21 May to 29 May 2010. Elton John 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.[13] Other performers at the 10-day festival included Mika, Harry Connick Jr., Thievery Corporation, Al Jarreau, Deolinda, Angélique Kidjo and Carlos Santana.[14]
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.
References
- ^ a b c d e Booth, Jenny (2009-05-25). "Stampede kills 11 people at world music festival in Morocco". London: The Times. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g "Deadly stampede at Rabat festival". BBC News. 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "11 killed in stampede at Rabat world music festival". France 24. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ a b "11 killed in Rabat stampede". Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-25. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d "11 killed in Morocco festival stampede". RTÉ. 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cheb Khaled, Kylie Minogue kick off star-studded Mawazine festival". Magharebia. 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Mawazine draw a million people". Euronews. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Just a Minute With: Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa". Reuters. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Mawazine rocks on". Euronews. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Art news in brief". Tehran Times. 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d "Eleven killed in Moroccan stampede". The Irish Times. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d "Stampede during Moroccan music festival kills 11". CBC. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ http://www.sting.com/news/news.php?uid=6388
- ^ http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/fr/artistes-2010.html
External links
