Festivals in Morocco? Yes, indeed, and all kinds of festivals, from traditional music to cherry blossom and electronic music events. Whether you’re planning a trip around a specific event or want to know what’s happening when you’re there, this guide covers every major festival in Morocco in 2026 with confirmed dates, practical details, and no filler.
If you want a Morocco itinerary built around any of these festivals, that’s exactly what I do. Check my travel planning page here, or we can have a short complimentary call first.
Quick Reference: 2026 Morocco Festival Calendar
| Festival | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1-54 Art Fair | Marrakech | Feb 5–8 (passed) |
| Festival of Roses | Kelaat M’Gouna | May 2026 |
| Fes Sacred Music Festival | Fes | June 4–7 |
| Sefrou Cherry Festival | Sefrou | Mid-June (TBC) |
| Mawazine music festival | Rabat | June 19–27 |
| Gnaoua World Music Festival | Essaouira | June 25–27 |
| Jazzablanca | Casablanca | July 2–11 |
| Timitar Festival | Agadir | Early July (TBC) |
| Asilah Arts Festival | Asilah | July (TBC) |
| Festival of Amazigh Culture | Fes | July (TBC) |
| Festival des Nomades | M’Hamid Grizlane, Sahara | April 3–5, 2026 |
| Tanjazz | Tangier | Sept 18–20 |
| MOGA Festival | Essaouira | Sept 30–Oct 4 |
| Marrakech Film Festival | Marrakech | Nov 20–28 |
| Visa for Music | Rabat | Nov 18–21 |
MUSIC FESTIVALS
Mawazine — Rhythms of the World
Dates: June 19–27, 2026 | Rabat | festivalmawazine.ma
Africa’s largest music festival. Over 2.5 million people across nine days, spread across six stages in Rabat and Salé. The main OLM Souissi stage draws ticketed international headliners — past editions have featured Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, and Shakira. Most other stages are free. The scale is genuinely hard to describe until you’ve been in it.
Rabat is well set up for this: tram system, plenty of accommodation, and easy train access from Casablanca (one hour). Dates overlap with Gnaoua in late June, so a combined Rabat–Essaouira trip is very doable.
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Gnaoua World Music Festival
Dates: June 25–27, 2026 | Essaouira | festival-gnaoua.net
The 27th edition of Morocco’s most important Gnaoua music celebration. Three days in a small Atlantic city that genuinely cannot handle the crowd — and that’s part of what makes it work. The main stage at Place Moulay Hassan draws headline fusion acts; Gnaoua masters (maâlems) performing alongside international jazz and blues artists in sessions that draw up to 500,000 visitors. Most concerts are free.
The real festival happens off-stage: lila ceremonies in back streets going until dawn, impromptu jams in the medina, performances on the beach. Gnaoua music was inscribed by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2019. The guembri bass and iron qraqeb castanets in a candle-lit room at 2am is one of the more unusual things Morocco can offer a traveler.
Accommodation: book six months out. Essaouira has the infrastructure of a small town and the festival brings in hundreds of thousands of people.
Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
Dates: June 4–7, 2026 | Fes | fesfestival.com
Founded in 1994, recognized by UNESCO as a significant event for intercultural dialogue. The 29th edition theme: “Fez and the Mâalemines — Guardians of Crafts, Tradition and Heritage.” Performers from across the world — Sufi qawwali singers from Pakistan, Gregorian chanters, West African griots, Andalusian classical ensembles — sharing the same stages in Fes’s UNESCO-listed medina. Venues include Bab Makina square and the Jnan Sbil gardens.
It’s worth understanding what this festival actually is: not a world music showcase but a deliberate dialogue between spiritual traditions through music. That framing changes how you experience it. Book riads inside the medina well in advance — they fill months out.
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Jazzablanca
Dates: July 2–11, 2026 | Anfa Park, Casablanca | jazzablanca.com
Ten days of jazz, soul, funk, and contemporary sounds at the former Casablanca hippodrome. The 2026 lineup includes Robbie Williams, Mika, and Jorja Smith alongside Moroccan and African acts. Multiple ticketed stages at Anfa Park, free concerts at United Nations Square. Casablanca has no accommodation shortage — book normally. The city’s Atlantic position keeps July temperatures manageable.
Timitar Festival
Dates: Early July 2026 (TBC) | Agadir | festivaltimitar.ma
The festival dedicated to Amazigh (Berber) music and identity, running since 2004. The lineup mixes Amazigh traditional artists with global acts from across Africa and the Middle East. Most concerts are free, staged along Boulevard du 20 Août near the beach. This isn’t a general world music festival that happens to be in Morocco — it’s a platform for indigenous cultural identity, and the programming reflects that. Combine with a few beach days in Agadir. Exact 2026 dates not yet confirmed; check the official website.
Tanjazz
Dates: September 18–20, 2026 | Tangier | tanjazz.org
The 23rd edition, returning after organizers skipped 2025 to restructure. Three days of jazz, jazz-rock, swing, and contemporary sounds at the Palais des Institutions Italiennes and the Grand Théâtre de Tanger. More curated and intimate than Mawazine — past editions brought in Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marcus Miller, and George Benson. The 2024 edition drew over 59,000 visitors. Masterclasses and jam sessions run alongside the main program, giving young Moroccan musicians stage time with international artists.
September in Tangier is excellent: temperatures have dropped, the city is quieter than August, and the Strait of Gibraltar light is something else. Add days on either side.
MOGA Festival
Dates: September 30–October 4, 2026 | Sofitel Mogador, Essaouira | mogafestival.com
The 10th anniversary edition. A boutique electronic music festival blending house and techno with Gnaoua rhythms — MOGA has always positioned itself as the bridge between Morocco’s traditional musical culture and the international electronic scene. Five days at the Sofitel Mogador spa and golf resort. The pre-festival MOGA OFF parties run throughout Essaouira’s medina in the days before the main event. Tickets from the official website; festival accommodation packages available directly through MOGA. This is a 21+ event.
L’Boulevard
Dates: September 2026 (TBC) | Casablanca | boulevard.ma
Running since 1999, L’Boulevard is Casablanca’s urban music festival — the voice of Moroccan hip-hop, rock, metal, and the underground scene. Three components: the main festival, the Tremplin competition giving emerging bands a platform, and Sbagha Bagha, a graffiti event covering the city’s walls with murals. More local in character than Mawazine — this is where Moroccan youth culture puts itself on stage. Exact 2026 dates not yet confirmed.
Visa for Music
Dates: November 18–21, 2026 | Rabat | visaformusic.com
The 13th edition. Part festival, part professional music market — Visa for Music is Africa and the Middle East’s first dedicated music industry event. Four days of live showcases, industry forums, networking, and label meetings across venues in Rabat’s Hassan district including Théâtre Mohamed V and Villa des Arts. If you’re in the music business or want to discover artists before they go mainstream, this is the one. Genre range: world music, Afrobeat, Arabic music, Amazigh music, jazz, rap.
ART AND FILM
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Dates: February 5–8, 2026 (passed — next edition February 2027) | La Mamounia, Marrakech | 1-54.com
Named for Africa’s 54 countries. The Marrakech edition — held at La Mamounia since 2018 — is the only major art fair dedicated to contemporary African art. The 2026 edition brought together 22 galleries and over 60 artists, with a strong showing from Moroccan galleries including Loft Art Gallery and La Galerie 38, plus four international first-timers. Mark February 2027 now. The fair runs parallel to private openings, dinners, and institutional events across the city — it operates as a full art week.
Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM)
Dates: November 20–28, 2026 | Marrakech | marrakech-festival.com
Africa’s most prominent film festival and Morocco’s most glamorous annual event. The 23rd edition runs nine days. International directors and films compete for the Étoile d’Or (Golden Star). Free outdoor screenings on Djemaa el-Fna square — arguably the world’s most extraordinary cinema setting, with the square’s storytellers and musicians providing unscripted atmosphere. Indoor screenings from 40 MAD. November in Marrakech is excellent: around 20°C, no summer crowds, the city at its most livable.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Asilah Arts Festival
(or the International Cultural Moussem of Asilah)
Started in 1978 by two men who looked at Asilah’s crumbling walls and invited artists to paint them. Now in its fifth decade. International muralists paint directly onto the whitewashed medina walls, galleries open in the ramparts, concerts and poetry events fill the evenings. The mural graffiti art stays up year-round — even when visiting outside the festival, you’ll see the traces of past editions. Asilah is located 46km south of Tangier, easy by train or grand taxi.
Festival of Amazigh Culture — Fes
Dates: July 2026 (TBC) | Fes
Fes is known internationally for the Sacred Music Festival, but its Festival of Amazigh Culture — typically held in July — is the lesser-known event worth knowing about. Music, traditional dance, poetry, and art all focused on Morocco’s indigenous Amazigh (Berber) heritage. Less international in profile, more rooted in what’s actually Moroccan. A very different festival from anything else happening in Fes.
HARVEST FESTIVALS
Festival of Roses (Moussem des Roses)
Dates: May 2026 (TBC, harvest-dependent) | Kelaat M’Gouna, Dades Valley
The Dades Valley between Kelaat M’Gouna and Boumalne Dades is planted with Rosa damascena — roses brought by pilgrims from Mecca in the 10th century. The harvest happens in a three-week window each May, and the festival follows it. Parade floats covered in rose petals, a Rose Queen ceremony, Berber music, merchants selling rose water, oils, and soaps direct from producers. Dates shift year to year based on when the roses actually bloom. Check closer to the season. The valley is worth the drive regardless.
Sefrou Cherry Festival
Dates: Mid-June 2026 (TBC) | Sefrou, 28km from Fes
Running since 1920, UNESCO-recognized as intangible cultural heritage. The Amazigh town of Sefrou — Morocco’s cherry capital — celebrates the harvest with a parade, traditional music, folk dancing, and the crowning of Miss Cherry based on general knowledge, personality, and appearance. Low-key by international standards, entirely genuine. Sefrou is 30 minutes from Fes — combine it with the Sacred Music Festival since the dates sit close together. Most people coming to Fes in June never make the detour.
Planning Around the Calendar
The summer cluster is the most concentrated: Fes Sacred Music and Sefrou in early June, Mawazine and Gnaoua in late June, Jazzablanca and Timitar in July. A two-week trip can cover three or four events without backtracking.
Autumn and winter are less crowded: Tanjazz and MOGA in September–October, Marrakech Film Festival and Visa for Music in November, 1-54 in February.
Accommodation note: for Essaouira especially, the difference between booking in January and booking in April is a fully-booked city versus options. Book the moment dates are confirmed — not when flights go on sale.