Marrakech, Islamic World’ s Capital of Culture in 2024
The city of Marrakech has been picked as the capital of culture in the Islamic world in 2024 for the Arab region.
The announcement was made, Monday, at the closing activities of the celebration of Rabat, capital of culture in the Islamic world 2022, an event organized by ICESCO for a whole year.
The closing ceremony was held at the Mohammed V Theater in the Moroccan capital, ending a year-long rich program of activities, that made of Rabat a metropolis at the international level and was an opportunity to inscribe 27 Moroccan heritage elements on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage Lists.
In an address on the occasion, ICESCO Director General, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, commended the beautiful and calm city of Rabat, describing it as “a cultivated city, where its history is a book, its present is a word and its future is sciences surpassing horizons as millions of radiant stars shining with tales of heritage and science.”
He noted that Rabat did not only win the honor of the title of Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, but also the hosting of the International Museum and Exhibition of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization at ICESCO Headquarters, which was inaugurated by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, and attracted nearly one-and-a-half million visitors in five months. In view of this success, King Mohammed VI approved the extension of this great scientific event for another six months, the ICESCO Chief said.
ICESCO Director General reviewed the 260 key activities held during the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World.
A documentary film was screened documenting the key stages of Rabat Celebration as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, as well as the most important activities that were organized over the year.
The ceremony ended by an art show entitled: The Journey of the Poet Abu Al-Hassan Al-Shushtari.
During the ceremony, ICESCO chief announced that the city of Marrakech will be the Culture Capital of the Islamic World for 2024.
As such, Marrakech, which is listed as an intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO, will host a series of cultural, intellectual and artistic meetings and events that highlight the Islamic civilization. This celebration will be an opportunity to showcase the richness of the city which, thanks to its historical civilization and its intellectual influence, is characterized by a particular charm manifested in its Andalusian architecture, its mosques and its Riyads.
ICESCO declared Nouakchott as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023.
