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The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music usually takes place during a week in June. However, the impact of COVID-19 prompted the cancellation of the 2020 festival and possibly the 2021 edition as it continues to impact the Moroccan population’s activities. The festival is anticipated, though not guaranteed, to take place at a prospective date during late fall of 2021.
In any normal year, Fes Festival attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. The increase in visitors to the event helps promote and grow tourism in Morocco which brings in significant revenue to the country.
When Morocco placed restrictions on the country to combat COVID-19, borders also closed. Morocco limited travel to and from its country which had devastating effects on its domestic tourism sector.
With events such as the Fes Festival bringing in thousands of tourists, the impact of COVID-19 is impacting economic growth that could have occurred if festivals took place as originally scheduled.
El Moussali, a representative for Nadia Fettah Alaoui, the Minister of Tourism, said that “the decreased number of tourists was equivalent to Morocco losing MAD 5.3 billion ($601.71 million) in revenue, a drop of 69% on a year to year basis”.
It is evident how crucial the role recreational activities and large-scale events, such as the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music, hold within Morocco’s economy and society, as well as how meaningful and attractive these events are among foreign visitors.
Founded by Faouzi Skali in Morocco during 1994, the Fes Festival serves as a means to showcase great musical traditions and nurture dialogue across different cultures. If this year’s event is to take place, it will be the festival’s 26th anniversary.
With roots in spiritual values, the festival welcomes artists to perform together with Muslim, Jewish and Christian artists as well as featuring a variety of performers from other faith backgrounds. It comprises multiple concerts and workshops that aims to foster dialogue on important issues such as climate change and human rights. Additionally, the diverse collaboration between artists from different backgrounds aims to promote mutual respect and the exchange of cultural knowledge.
Other worldwide summer festivals similar to Morocco’s Fes Festival of World Sacred Music are Germany’s “Karneval der Kulturen” and Brazil’s “Rock in Rio”.
The “Karneval der Kulturen” or “Carnival of Cultures” is similar to the Fes Festival as both embrace people from all backgrounds and identities, while displaying diverse musical acts.
The “Rock in Rio” began as a result of societal and economic issues occurring in Brazil, similar to the ideas the Fes Festival hopes to foster in the dialogue it promotes among attendees.
Due to COVID-19, both the original festival dates were cancelled and postponed. They are anticipated to again feature in the fall, suffering from similar uncertainty as the status of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music.
Morocco World News reached out to the festival organizers and is yet to receive an answer on whether or not the event will take place this year.
Helen Ranger, founder of Fez Riads, a personal service company that helps people find a place to stay while visiting the city, said in her article in Lonely Planet that “the medieval Moroccan city of Fez hosts the renowned Fes Festival of World Sacred Music every year in May or June”.
Though the Fes Festival occurs during the summer, the virus is once again impacting that annual tradition, and Morocco’s overall prosperity in a post-COVID-19 world.
Morocco continues to make gradual progress in transforming its country back to its pre-COVID-19 state. It has been recently announced by Morocco’s government that lockdown measures are being eased.
The government is allowing the reopening of movie theaters, cultural centers, libraries, museums, public swimming pools, and beaches. All mosques across the country are allowed to gradually reopen and public weddings may operate. The new measure permits people to hold gatherings and activities.
