In a press release, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Africa announces that Rabat is officially the African Capital of Culture for the period of 2020/2021. The reasons why Marrakech lost this opportunity were not mentioned.
The choice of Rabat instead of Marrakech came as a surprise. According to the press release of the Organizing Committee of the African Capitals of Culture, Marrakech has withdrawn, a few days before the kick-off of the event.
For UCLG Africa, “it is the Moroccan government that took this decision. Morocco has sovereignty; it can choose the city it wants”, had advanced the secretary-general of the African Capital of Culture Committee, Khalid Tamer.
The Committee recalls that the program of African Capitals of Culture includes three types of activities, namely: Events labeled in line with the philosophy of the African Capitals of Culture, for their contribution to honoring African creativity; multi-year programs that help to structure, organize, professionalize and network artists and cultural actors on the African continent; events and activities created specifically for the host city of the African Capitals of Culture celebration, in close collaboration with the authorities of the city and the host country.
