The sands of Merzouga will host the fourth edition of the International Music Festival from 7 to 10 April, organised by the Sahrawi Association for Tourism and Cultural Development.
"For Tolerance and Peace" are the key words of this edition, which aims to be an artistic and cultural melting pot for the entire region, whose population is truly thirsty for this type of event. The festival will help to highlight and showcase the extraordinary natural assets of this region, which is better known to foreign tourists. The instigator of this event, Nasser Naciri, president of the Festival and the Sahrawi Association for Tourism and Cultural Development, believes that through this festival, he can give a boost to the promotion of this region, whose natural beauty is unique thanks to its dunes—the highest in Morocco—in addition to its precious cultural and traditional legacy.
"It is true that this festival is becoming an unmissable event year after year for music lovers and those interested in parallel activities. But it must be said that we still have difficulties finding sponsors and other ministerial departments to help us realise the dream we have conceived within our association. As we work for the well-being of the entire region so that it can attract the maximum number of Moroccan and foreign visitors, organising a festival in this region is a necessity to attract people and make them aware of the wonders of this region and its sandy dunes, renowned for their virtues of arenotherapy (or sand baths), also called psammatotherapy. There is nothing better than music to combine the useful with the pleasant. I hope that those who wish to help culture and art listen to our message and understand its depth," emphasises the president of the Festival, who, despite the obstacles and the closing of several doors, has not given up and continues on his path by announcing the tone of this edition.
Admittedly, according to him, the organisation of the Festival will be financially difficult, but it will quench the thirst of all those who will be present and will be able to savour the musical sounds, right in the dunes of Merzouga, with workshops featuring fusions between different rhythms of the world, notably the Gnaoua symphony, among dozens of other artists who will take part in this fourth edition, coming from several countries, namely Ireland, Senegal, France, Spain, Ivory Coast, Italy, Mali, Great Britain, and Congo. Of course, the Moroccan participation will also be up to the mark with multiple artists and troupes from the region and also from other cities of the Kingdom.
Conferences on "Tolerance and Peace", "Sahrawi Tourism", as well as "Music as a sign of universal belonging" are planned with specialists in the field and other speakers. As for side events, the Festival plans, in addition to a tasting ceremony presenting the assets and mysteries of Moroccan gastronomy, an exhibition of local products dedicated to associations in the region, an exhibition of works of art by artists from the region and international artists, a football tournament played on a sand pitch, a pétanque tournament in the presence of renowned champions, and a sand marathon.
