By celebrating music in all its richness and diversity, the Meknès-Volubilis International Festival has succeeded in inventing and reinventing itself to become a major artistic and cultural event in Morocco.

This event organised by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with the wilaya of the Meknès-Tafilalet region and the urban commune of Meknès returns for a 14th edition, which will offer the public a journey to the heart of diverse artistic universes, where rhythms, melodies, and texts testify to a true cultural blending. This openness to the world confirms the desire of the organisers to strengthen the values of exchange, tolerance, and conviviality while celebrating the art of living of an ancestral and warm Morocco. Thus, the Meknès-Volubilis International Festival will bring together, this year, a multitude of artists and troupes representing a wide range of countries such as Poland, Turkey, Spain, Peru, China, France, and Côte d'Ivoire. The festival will also see the participation of several renowned Moroccan artists, representing different generations and categories of Moroccan song. These artists will perform on the stage of the Lahboul theatre, as well as on Lahdim Square, one of the most well-known historical sites of the Ismaili city. This celebration of historical sites through their integration into the economic, cultural, and environmental dynamism constitutes, according to the organisers, a confirmation of the need to build bridges between History, the present, and the future. On the programming side, choice performances are on the menu of the festival this year. In addition to the opening evening hosted by the Maria Pomianowska group (Poland), the Turkish Folk Music Troupe, as well as the Rouh Meknès group (Morocco), the public has an appointment throughout the festival with magical moments of singing and dancing, provided by great names of the Moroccan and international artistic scene. This notably includes the Paille Group (Martinique), Cheb Kader (Algeria), the Beijing Opera Troupe (China), Pessa Band (Côte d'Ivoire), the Cumbia All Star group (Peru), Lucia Alvarez and her Flamenco musical company, or even the Azawane and Mouloud El Messkaoui group (Morocco).

These artists will plunge the public into the heart of the musical traditions of their countries through artistic creations and colourful shows. The festival will close in style with the performances that will be given on July 8 at the Lahboul theatre by Moroccan artists Fatima Zahra Laâroussi, Saâd Lamjarred, and Bouchra Khaled.

It should be noted that the festival will pay a vibrant tribute this year to Abdel Wahid Tétouani and Hamid Alzahir, two artists who have left their mark on the Moroccan musical scene.