Mawazine Festival, Rabat, May 15 2009

[Al-khiyal]

Morocco's Mawazine honors Rose of Arab music

May 18, 2009 -- The Arab diva Warda Al Jazairia (The Rose of Algeria) performed, on Saturday evening in Rabat, a memorable recital in front of a large audience who came to attend the artist’s first participation in the 8th edition of the Mawazine Festival. On the occasion, the famous singer received a distinguished official and popular homage. On the instructions of King Mohammed VI, Mohammed Mouatassim, Adviser of the Sovereign, gave the Diva of Arab song the badge of honor: the Alaouite Ouissam of the Order of Commander. Mr. Mouatassim also awarded the artist a certificate of merit and recognition. Fans, belonging to different generations, reserved an enthusiastic welcoming for the diva who was greeted with applause and a true standing ovation. On her part, Warda performed, with grace, her best hits, mainly songs which won great success in the nineties of the last century: “Harramt Ahibbak” and “Batwanness Bik “awoke sweet memories.

Warda is one of the rare Arab singers who are capable of going beyond the linguistic and musical borders symbolizing a complementarity between the Maghreb and the Machreq. Warda was born the youngest of five children near Paris in Puteaux in 22 July 1940. Her father, Mohammed Ftouki was one of the first Algerian immigrants to France, ran a hotel for migrant workers at Boulogne-Billancourt and then became the owner of an Arabic music cabaret in the Quartier Latin called the Tam-Tam (named after the three initials of the three Maghreb countries, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco). Warda's mother was a Lebanese born in Beirut in a Muslim family of good social position called Yamout. She had taught Warda every Lebanese song of some importance. Thus the girl's liking for the Middle Eastern song had developed. Warda has always brought joy and pleasure, through her art, talent and magical voice, to her many fans and admirers across the Arab world and globally through more than 300 carefully chosen songs and with concerts booked all over the world.

[Al-khiyal]

Cheb Khaled, Kylie Minogue kick off star-studded Mawazine festival

May 18, 2009 -- Mounia, Hamza, and Nacer came all the way from Casablanca to enjoy the festivities of the Eighth Mawazine festival. Standing outside the Qamra stage, where Cheb Khaled, the Algerian king of Raï performed on Saturday (May 16th), they echoed sentiments felt by many other young attendees.

"We couldn’t wait for Khaled and Kylie Minogue, the Australian Madonna," Mounia said.

People came in huge numbers from cities across the kingdom to attend the shows, particularly Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez and Tangiers.

Over the first three days, young Moroccans caught up with Kylie Minogue, Cheb Khaled, Warda Al Jazairia, former UB40 frontman Ali Campbell, and White Zulu’s Johnny Clegg. They paid between 100 and 500 dirhams for this chance to enjoy themselves and to get away from it all. With caps, water and supplies, they laid siege to Rabat.

The festival, entitled "Rhythms of the World", opened Friday on the splendid Bouregreg stage with a concert by musical genius Ennio Morricone, accompanied by a 90-member Moroccan choir. Then Australian pop star Kylie Minogue performed on the OLM Souissi stage.

Organisers said about 50,000 people attended Khaled's concert, 40,000 turned up for Minogue and more than 30,000 for Warda.

"It was like being in a dream for a few hours," said Amine, who came with friends Nadia and Yahia - all students from Rabat. "I did all I could to make sure I see Kylie and Khaled. Long live Khaled.

In a press statement, Minogue described the Moroccan public, whom she met for the first time, as a "fantastic audience".

"It was a real honour for me to take part in this fantastic festival," she said.

The organisers say that they have pushed the envelope this year to offer something for every taste, and to give the Moroccan public a whole gamut of universal cultures, "all based around the single theme of tolerance."

"The spirit of the festival was to affirm the universal language of music, which preaches tolerance and dialogue between cultures above everything else," said the festival’s artistic director Aziz Daki.

More Arab and international music icons are scheduled to perform this year, including Samira Said, and Kazem al Saher.

Stevie Wonder is scheduled to perform the closing concert on May 23.

The festival awarded the renowned singer Warda Al Jazairia, the Wissam Royal, a prestigious award given by King Mohammed VI.

"I love this country," Al Jazairia said after the concert, "and I’m deeply touched by the royal gesture. It’s like getting a crown, which I shall wear for the rest of my life."

[Al-khiyal]

Generation Mawazine winners announced in Rabat

May 19, 2009 -- Rappers "Dirty Face", rock band "Chemical Bliss" and fusion group "Settafusion" won the 2009 Generation Mawazine competition in Rabat, MAP reported on Monday (May 18th). The winners get a CD and video clip deal. They will also perform at the 2010 edition of the Mawazine Festival. Some 280 performers from 37 Moroccan cities participated in try-outs for the event.

[Al-khiyal]

Morocco music festival stampede kills at least 11, injures 30 others

Rabat, Morocco, May 24, 2009 (AHN) - At least 11 people are dead and 30 others were injured in a stampede at a music concert in the Moroccan capital city of Rabat on late Saturday.

The local authorities said that 70,000 fans started hurriedly leaving a soccer stadium at the end of the Mawazine (Rhythms) world music festival, which led to the stampede.

The Hay Nahda stadium had been hosting an eight-day music concert that was opened by Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue.

Local reports said the stampede resulted after the collapse of a wire fence as it was pushed by spectators at the end of the event.

Police said the dead included five women, four men and two children who were crushed by the surging crowd.

The rescuers took the injured to local hospitals. The reports said some of the people suffered serious injuries and at least seven people remained hospitalized.

This year's concert featured Moroccan singer Abdelaziz Stati, Ennio Morricone, Algerian pop star Khaled and American R&B artist Alicia Keyes.

The festival was part of events organized by King Mohammed to dampen the increasing cultural influence of the country's opposition Islamist politicians, who do not approve of the music concerts.

[Al-khiyal]

Maroc :
11 morts et une quarantaine de blessés lors d’un concert

Dimanche 24 Mai 2009 -- Onze personnes sont mortes et une quarantaine d’autres ont été blessées samedi à Rabat dans une bousculade survenue lors d’un concert du festival de musiques du monde "Mawazine", a annoncé dimanche la police. Selon cette source, l’incident s’est produit lorsqu’un grillage s’est effondré sous la pression des dizaines de milliers de spectateurs qui se ruaient à l’issue du concert vers l’une des principales sorties. Cinq femmes, quatre hommes et deux enfants ont péri lors de cette bousculade, a-t-on précisé de même source. Ouvert le 15 mai, le concert du festival Mawazine, l’un des principaux rendez-vous culturels de l’année au Maroc, a regroupé jusqu’à samedi soir quelque 1.700 artistes étrangers et marocains, a-t-on fait savoir.

[Al-khiyal]

Tragic accident brings Mawazine festival to sombre close

May 25, 2009 -- Tragedy struck on the closing evening of Morocco's Mawazine festival on Saturday (May 23rd), when 11 people were killed and another 40 injured in a stampede during a concert by folk singer Abdelaziz Setati at the Hay Ennahda stadium.

The injured, who were taken to Avicenne Hospital, claimed that the tragedy occurred when dozens of spectators fell into a large pit.

Amine, a tearful nineteen-year-old woman, told Magharebia of the terrible experience she went through: "I fell into a huge hole, which the city council was chiefly liable for. I was surrounded by women, children and other young people. I only came round in hospital."

Other victims told similar stories. Some spectators criticised the lack of security at the venue. Salwa, 22, said that most of the security guards had been sent to the Stevie Wonder concert attended by several VIPs, while the Setati concert was neglected.

The Rabat-Sale-Zemmour-Zaer authorities denied this allegation and stressed that all necessary safety measures had been taken, with 500 security guards deployed.

District Governor Hassan Amrani said at a press conference on Sunday that the causes of the terrible incident had nothing to do with either security or organisation, since the relevant safety regulations had been respected.

He explained the stadium where the concert was held has nine exits, but some audience members took a short-cut through a prohibited passageway to save a few minutes. This, he said, was what caused the accident. "The authorities cannot be blamed, since it was not a hole; it was a slope that is part of the layout of the stadium and is surrounded by a wire fence. It collapsed under the pressure put on it by the crowd."

Aziz Seghouchni, Vice President of the Maroc-Culture association, which organised the festival, said that lessons would be learned from the incident and that the Mawazine festival would be held again in the future.

Governor Amrani said that in the wake of the incident, the local authorities took the necessary steps to evacuate the victims and move the injured to the university hospital for treatment.

"Most of the injured have been discharged from the hospital," he said, adding that "eight people were held for observation".

Avicenne Hospital director Yasser Soufiani said these eight are in serious or critical condition, and explained that the 11 fatalities were caused by asphyxia due to the stampede.

Hospital staff said that the injured victims have been offered counselling to deal with the incident.

King Mohammed VI, who sent messages of condolence and sympathy to the survivors, announced that he would cover the funeral and medical costs for the families affected by the tragedy.

[Al-khiyal]

Tragedy, triumphant concerts make for bittersweet Mawazine festival

May 27, 2009 -- Before the tragedy that unfolded during the Mawazine festival's closing night on Saturday (May 23rd), Morocco's capital city vibrated for nine days to the rhythm of star-studded evening performances. Now, as the city continues to reel at the number of people killed or injured by the stampede at Hay Ennahda Stadium, music lovers across Morocco must confront both sadness over the disaster and good memories of extraordinary concerts.

The residents of Rabat have grown accustomed to the annual festival that gives them the opportunity to see famous national and international artists. Rabat nightlife moves at a different pace while the festival is on. City districts that are usually quiet after ten o'clock at night are thronged with young people keen to listen to their favourite music.

Hundreds of people gather around a stage, brought together by a shared passion. Most of the concerts managed to draw a huge audience from all corners of the city. Artists received an ecstatic reaction from their fans.

Samira, 18, accompanied by her parents, wept last Thursday as she listened to her favourite artist, Houcine Al Jasmi. She could not hold back her tears as she repeated the words of his songs.

The same emotion held sway every evening at every performance for many young people her age.

"Since Mawazine opened, my parents have taken me every evening to watch a performance by my favourite artists," Samira said.

Hind, her mother, was keen to tell Magharebia how the festival events enabled people who live in the capital to step outside the monotonous regularity of their normal lives.

"Normally, you wouldn't know where to go for the evening with your family in Rabat," she said.

Still, many parents criticised the timing of the festival, which comes just in the run-up to the baccalaureate and university examinations.

Chafia Madani, a management assistant, said that the festival stops pupils and students from reviewing properly, despite their parents' advice. Her son, Haïtem, who must take his baccalaureate exam on June 2nd, did not miss one evening event. Accompanied by his friends, he stayed out until two in the morning. "He had no time left for revision," she said, disappointed.

A number of families have called on the organisers to change the dates for Mawazine.

Festival officials, who have become accustomed to these comments over the years, are not convinced by the parents' arguments. They point out that it is impossible to please everyone, and explain that it would be impossible to find a slot for this kind of event that would not be contested.

Organisers point out that Mawazine's success comes from its timing, because it manages to attract famous artists when there are few festivals taking place.

Festival officials intend to go on holding the event.

Some people feel, however, that the festival will always bear the scars of the terrible accident that claimed 11 lives.

"I'll no longer allow my children to go to the Mawazine concerts," Salima said. "They went to almost every evening event this year. Fortunately, on this fateful Saturday, they were at the Stevie Wonder concert."

The tragedy will dissuade many people from coming to the various performances in the future, psychologist Ahmed Zahid told Magharebia.

Still, memories are unpredictable.

"Between now and next year, there will also be many people who will forget the tragedy," he added.