Fez is getting ready to welcome artists, musicians and audiences from around the world as the 29th Fez Festival of World Sacred Music opens on Thursday night
Fez – The 29th edition of the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music will open on Thursday evening with a spectacular creation celebrating the craftsmen and women whose skills have shaped the cultural identity of Morocco’s spiritual capital for centuries.
At 9 p.m. on June 4, the historic Bab Al Makina venue will host “Anima Ex Materia – From Heaven to Earth”, the festival’s opening production and the first major event of this year’s edition, held under the theme “Fez and the Maâlems, Guardians of Gesture and Heritage.”
The performance places the artisan’s hand at the center of the story, exploring the creative gesture that transforms raw materials into works of beauty and meaning.
Through music, choreography and visual storytelling, the show traces a journey from the heart of Fez’s medina to the cultural landscapes of Asia and the East.
Illuminated by the lanterns of traditional metalworkers, the production will recreate the atmosphere of workshops where fire, earth, water and air, the four elements that have inspired generations of craftsmen, come together.
Potters, weavers, leather workers, zellige masters, carpenters and coppersmiths all serve as inspiration for a performance designed as a tribute to the city’s living heritage.
The show also travels across time and geography, drawing connections between the silk traditions of ancient China, the intricate zellige art of Fez, the mosaics of Volubilis and artistic influences from across the Mediterranean and Asia.
Artists from Morocco, India, China, Cambodia, Central Asia and the Balkans will take part in the opening celebration.
The evening will continue at 11 p.m. in Jnan Sbil Garden with a performance by the Traditional Chamber Music Ensemble of the China Conservatory of Music, offering festivalgoers a first taste of the international program that awaits over the coming days.
This year’s festival will bring together more than 160 artists from around the world across four days of concerts, spiritual performances and cultural encounters in some of Fez’s most iconic venues.
Among the highlights scheduled for Friday, June 5, is “Songs of the Mountains and the Steppes,” a musical journey along the Silk Road featuring performers from Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The concert, set for 6 p.m. at Jnan Sbil Garden, will celebrate the traditions of Central Asian poets, storytellers and nomadic musicians.
The same evening, Bab Al Makina will host one of the festival’s most anticipated events: “Sami Yusuf and the Night of Samaa.”.
The internationally acclaimed artist will share the stage with the Konya Metropolitan Sufi Music Ensemble from Turkey and leading Moroccan voices in a performance dedicated to spiritual music and Sufi traditions.
Recognized as the world’s first festival devoted to sacred music and recently honored with the prestigious Mercurio Alato award, the Fez Festival continues to strengthen its reputation as a meeting point between cultures, artistic traditions and spiritual expressions from across the globe.
With the festival kicking off on Thursday night, Fez is preparing for four days filled with music, culture and encounters from across the world.
This year’s edition begins with a tribute to the artisans whose skills and creativity remain at the heart of the city’s identity.
