Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival

Essaouira is located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco and is a peaceful port town with a rich heritage of trade and commerce.

The World Music Festival brings Essaouira to life and now attracts around 450,000 people to its array of free and ticketed events.

Last year 10,000 foreign visitors came to the festival and the organisers are hoping to increase this number again to bring more prosperity to the area.

Celebrity fans of the World Music Festival have included Orson Welles, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger. Brand new acts continue to perform at this event and many stars of tomorrow become keen supporters of the festival early on.

The site where the festival occurs has recently been named a Universal Patrimony Site by the United Nations and the local population is very proud of the event's impact.

Overall there are nine stages of headline acts, plus two large outdoor stages that are free to the public. There are also acoustic tents and small outdoor stages that prove to be highly intimate and popular.