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Marrakech – If FNAP 2025 had a heartbeat, its closing night this Monday was the crescendo. Held under the stars at the iconic El Badi Palace, the final chapter of this five-day cultural symphony was everything it promised to be – electric, emotional, and undeniably Moroccan.
The crowd, larger than any of the previous nights, rose to its feet as the national anthem played. They chanted, they clapped, they celebrated. The walls of the centuries-old palace echoed with unity. From the very first note, the night belonged to Morocco.
Festival President Mohamed Knidiri took the stage and offered a simple yet powerful message: “Our culture, our identity, our life.” He congratulated the audience and artists alike: “There is nothing like this abroad. Congratulations to us.” With pride, he shared that around 200,000 people had attended the shows, a testament to the festival’s role as a vibrant dialogue between art and identity.
Then came the moment the crowd had been waiting for. Saida Charaf stepped onto the stage, and the energy soared. Applause turned to cheers, cheers to dancing. She opened with Sahraoui rhythms, then journeyed through Ouad Zem, Khouribga, and back to the Sahara, each time transforming the stage into a new region of Morocco. Every rhythm she touched turned to gold.
In the middle of her performance, she paused to thank her former music teacher, El Hajj Youness, who watched proudly from the audience. That brief moment of gratitude reflected the essence of FNAP.
‘We traveled the whole country without leaving our seats’
With every song, Charaf carried the audience further on their musical voyage, from the pulse of Reggada in the North, where she invited the audience to sing with her, to the chants of Hassadas Assilah, to Sahraoui Charaa.
But what brought the palace to collective stillness was her performance in Tamazight. In a city as linguistically diverse as Marrakech, where Moroccan Arabic is the dominant tongue, the crowd’s perfect singing in Tamazight was nothing short of astonishing. It was a celebration of Amazigh identity, and a testament to Morocco’s cultural mosaic. In that moment, language wasn’t a barrier, it was rather a bridge.
One audience member told MWN: “She’s the best FNAP could’ve brought. She blends every dialect, every genre, every culture, and every emotion. We traveled the whole country without leaving our seats.”
As if the night needed any more magic, the MCs brought El Hajj Youness and renowned Moroccan vocalist Fouad Zbadi on stage. Youness shared, “This is the first time I’ve seen a festival this good. We saw the whole folklore tonight with Saida. This is one of the greatest festivals worldwide.”
When Zbadi spoke, the crowd cheered before he could finish a sentence. “No group is like the other,” he said. “This diversity is mesmerizing. It’s beautiful.” Moments later, he and Charaf sang together, a duet that stunned the audience with its harmony.
The evening climaxed with Charaf performing her latest release alongside El Guedra from Guelmim. The same song that had premiered the day before now became a shared anthem, danced and clapped to by all.
Then, in perfect FNAP fashion, the Dakka Marrakchia took over, the chants and the infectious rhythm pulled everyone to their feet. The festival ended not with a farewell, but a celebration; cheers everywhere, love in the air, and music in every corner.
The 54th edition of FNAP closed its final curtain, but its spirit will surely echo.
