Founded in 2001 in Rabat, Mawazine has grown into one of the largest music festivals on the planet, drawing more than 2.7 million attendees and offering most of its concerts for free.
**Mawazine – Rythmes du Monde** is Morocco's biggest international music festival and one of the largest on Earth. Founded in **2001** in Rabat by the **Maroc Cultures** association, it has transformed the capital, every June, into a continent-spanning musical crossroads.
**A Festival of Global Stars:**
Across nine days and multiple stages, Mawazine has hosted some of the biggest names in popular music: **Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Shakira, Bruno Mars, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd, Christina Aguilera**, alongside the leading voices of Arab, African and Latin music.
**Mostly Free of Charge:**
A defining feature of Mawazine is that **the vast majority of its concerts are free**. Massive open-air stages on the OLM Souissi grounds and at Bouregreg welcome huge crowds, while smaller paid venues host more intimate sets.
**Crowds in the Millions:**
At its peak, Mawazine has drawn **more than 2.7 million attendees** over a single edition, placing it among the **three largest festivals in the world by attendance**, alongside the Donauinselfest (Vienna) and Summerfest (Milwaukee).
**Three Continents on One Stage:**
Beyond the headliners, Mawazine showcases major **Arab and African artists** (Cheb Khaled, Saad Lamjarred, Burna Boy, Davido, Aya Nakamura, Youssou N'Dour) and dedicates entire stages to traditional Moroccan music — turning the festival into a snapshot of contemporary global pop.
**Cultural Soft Power:**
Mawazine is also part of Morocco's broader cultural strategy. By bringing the world's biggest stars to Rabat, it positions the kingdom as a cultural hub of the Mediterranean and Africa — and gives millions of young Moroccans direct, free access to the global music scene.