Essaouira Medina hosts Andalousies Atlantiques from 29 October
Published on 10/21/2026 at 13:57 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSMusic and memory in October
- Association Essaouira-Mogador stages the festival from 29 to 31 October 2026.
- The 31 October programme brings Piyut and Gnaoua performers together at the closing concert.
- The fortified town was founded in 1765 as an Atlantic trading port.
- UNESCO added the medina to the World Heritage List in 2001.
The Essaouira Medina (Médina d'Essaouira) will host the Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques from 29 to 31 October 2026 in Essaouira, Morocco. The programme brings concerts, public forums and a closing meeting between Piyut singers and Gnaoua musicians to the historic centre.
Andalousies Atlantiques brings three days of music
Organised by the Association Essaouira-Mogador, the twenty-first festival is built around the theme of shared musical memory. The programme includes fifteen concerts and activities at the Grande Scene, Dar Souiri and Bayt Dakira, according to the festival programme.
The opening on 29 October pairs Moshe Louk with Marouane Hajji in a meeting of Judeo-Moroccan and Arab-Andalusian traditions. The programme also names Olga Pericet, Hamid Ajbar, Mercedes Lujan and the HaPiyut Ensemble among the participating artists.
On 30 October, Bayt Dakira hosts the Forum des Andalousies, while Dar Souiri presents musical and spoken events. The closing concert on 31 October is the central link between the festival and the medina: the HaPiyut Ensemble performs with Maalma Hind Ennaira in a first meeting of Piyut and Gnaoua on the same stage.
The festival connects with a fortified Atlantic town
The historic setting gives the programme a specific cultural context. UNESCO describes the town as a fortified seaport founded in the eighteenth century, with European military design adapted to a North African setting. Its present form dates from 1765, when Sultan Sidi Mohamed ben Abdallah established a port open to commercial relations with Europe.
French architect Theodore Cornut laid out the town on a planned grid influenced by Vauban's fortifications at Saint-Malo. The surviving ramparts, the Sqala of the Port, the Sqala of the Medina and the Bab Marrakech bastion are among the features identified in the UNESCO World Heritage description.
That history explains the choice of Bayt Dakira and Dar Souiri as more than event addresses. The festival's music programme moves through places associated with the town's Jewish, Muslim and European histories, while the closing collaboration joins two Moroccan traditions that have long existed alongside one another.
Visiting Essaouira Medina: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques takes place from 29 to 31 October 2026 at the Grande Scene, Dar Souiri and Bayt Dakira in Essaouira Medina.
- The programme includes concerts, a public forum and a closing performance bringing the HaPiyut Ensemble together with Maalma Hind Ennaira on 31 October.
- The medina is the walled historic centre of Essaouira, with access points including Bab Marrakech, Bab Doukalla and the area around the port.
- Visitors encounter a historic urban layout with ramparts, bastions, narrow streets and the Sqala fortifications; the terrain is predominantly pedestrian within the walls.
- Morocco's official languages are Arabic and Amazigh, and the national currency is the Moroccan dirham.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Essaouira Medina
When does the Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques take place at Essaouira Medina?
The festival runs from 29 to 31 October 2026 in Essaouira, with events at the Grande Scene, Dar Souiri and Bayt Dakira.
What is Essaouira Medina?
It is the fortified historic centre of Essaouira, a planned Atlantic port whose present town dates from 1765 and whose medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Where is Essaouira Medina and how do you get there?
It stands in the historic centre of Essaouira on Morocco's Atlantic coast. The port, Bab Marrakech and Place Moulay Hassan are established reference points around the walled area.
