Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

A festival of dialogue between spiritual traditions

The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music was founded in 1994, and its Forum in 2001. It is organised by the Esprit de Fès Foundation, under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI. In 2001, the United Nations named it among the events contributing to the dialogue of civilisations.

The idea has not changed: to bring music from different spiritual traditions to a city of learning and faith. Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Björk, Ravi Shankar, Paco de Lucía, Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras, Youssou N'Dour and Sami Yusuf have all played here. Each edition opens with a large multidisciplinary creation, and the programme makes room for little-known talent.

The 29th edition, from 4 to 7 June 2026, took the theme "Guardians of gesture and heritage", in tribute to the master craftsmen of Fes. More than 160 artists from some twenty countries gave 18 performances to about 32,000 spectators: Khmer sacred dance from Cambodia, nomadic traditions from Kazakhstan, Indian ragas, Pakistani Sufi singing with Sanam Marvi, women's voices from East and West, and a closing night devoted to samaa, Sufi spiritual song, "from Fes to Konya". The Forum, devoted that year to passing on craft skills, welcomed the writer Tahar Ben Jelloun.

Three settings, three ways of listening

The festival takes place in the medina, in venues that change the way you listen.

• Bab Al Makina, the great square of Fes el-Jdid where the royal palace once held its official ceremonies, is the main stage. Evenings start around 21:00 local time, with the opening creation and the headliners in the open air.
• The Jnan Sbil gardens, between Fes el-Jdid and the old city, host the late-afternoon concerts and the late-night ones, which start around 23:00.
• Dar Adiyel, an old house in the medina, hosts the morning and midday concerts, in the festival's most intimate setting.

Booking and planning

Tickets are sold concert by concert on the festival's official site, fesfestival.com. The Bab Al Makina evenings and the small venues fill quickly: Sabaro recommends booking as soon as the programme is published.

Accommodation is the other thing to settle early. The festival is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Fes; the Karawan Riad, for example, counts it as high season and applies specific cancellation terms. In Sabaro's selection:

• Riad Laaroussa, between Bab Boujloud and the Qarawiyyin, and Riad Fès, five minutes' walk from Place Batha, are the closest to Jnan Sbil and Bab Al Makina: you can walk back after the last concert.
• Karawan Riad, in the Andalusian quarter, is further away and quieter.
• Palais Faraj, on the southern rampart, and Hôtel Sahrai, on the hill above the medina, can be reached by car to the door: convenient with a driver for late returns.

The heat builds in June. At Fes-Saïss, the average June high is 31.2 °C and the average low 14.9 °C, according to the 1991-2020 normals of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Evening concerts are cool, but a light jacket helps after midnight; spend the day at the riad or by the pool, or in the medina early in the morning.

What to combine with the festival

Three nights are enough for the festival; Sabaro suggests adding one or two for the medina itself, with a guide on the first morning. Meknes and the Roman city of Volubilis make a good day out between concerts, and Chefchaouen is 3 h 24 by road for those heading north.