L'Boulevard is an urban music festival held annually in Casablanca, Morocco. A segment named Tremplin is held in the form of a competition, allowing young musical groups to gain exposure to a larger audience. There are three main components to the event: L'Boulevard Festival, the Tremplin competition, and Sbagha Bagha—an opportunity for graffiti artists to cover the "White City" with their creations.
History
The event was created by Mohamed Merhari and Hicham Bahou in 1999. It was initially conceived as a competition to reward the bestcontestants in each of the 3 categories: hip-hop and rap, rock and metal, and fusion. Over the years, this festival has developed into a landmark event in Casablanca. Artists such as Don Bigg of Mafia C from, H-Kayne, Fnaïre, Zanka Flow and others and have participated in this competition and have been chosen as the best contestants. The concerts remain one of the best opportunities for underground Moroccan musicgroups to make themselves known to a wider public, as well as national and internationalmedia. In 2006, some groups, such as the Portuguese gothic metal group Moonspell, attracted 20,000 spectators.
Program
The festival program includes competing musical groups as well as young groups and established groups. They contribute to the development of the youth music scene through meetings and workshops.
Organization
The festival is 4 days long, with one day for each of the four genres of the festival:
electro
rap
rock/metal
:Category:Fusion music genres|fusion
Each day, there are two sections:
In the afternoon, there is the competition at the Racing Universitaire de Casablanca stadium. These stages are called the "Tremplin Stages." This section has also been held at the Old Abattoirs.
The evening performances take place at the Club Olympique Casablancais Stadium, where well-known national and international musicians—such as :fr:Kreator|Kreator, :fr:Moonspell|Moonspell, :fr:Paradise Lost |Paradise Lost, :fr:Gojira|Gojira—are invited to perform.
