Marseille Festival
From Wednesday, July 1, 2026 to Friday, July 3, 2026
This year, the Festival de Marseille is focusing on Egypt at the Mucem, and giving pride of place to mahraganat, a blend of popular music, hip-hop and electro.
Born in the streets of Cairo in the early 2000s and amplified during the Egyptian revolution of 2011, mahraganat has become the sound of the street and the revolution in a country experiencing profound social upheavals. Discover this artistic and political movement, a symbol of contemporary Egypt and now a veritable cultural phenomenon, during three days of workshops, performances, dance, screenings, meetings and DJ sets.
A program supported by the French Institute of Egypt and Région SUD.
Co-produced with Mucem.
Évènements passés (5)
- Free
Mahraganat revolt, the sound that shakes Egypt
Marseille Festival
Interview with Yasmine El Rashidi. In Arabic, translated and moderated by Nicolas Gilles.
In her book Révolte mahraganat, le son qui secoue l’Égypte, published in March 2026, Yasmine El Rashidi explores the troubled trajectories of mahraganat and its links with the 2011 revolution. The Egyptian author and journalist will discuss these themes with artists Islam Elarabi and Toto.On Friday, Jul 3, 2026
de 20h45 à 21h45
J4 / Auditorium
Just one Tile, Islam Elarabi
Marseille Festival
Rooted in the streets of Cairo, “Just One Tile” explores Islam Elarabi’s identity, resilience, and cultural heritage through his lived experience and bodily memory.
It’s an opportunity for him to assert his origins and his determination to dance whatever the cost – “I come from a place where a single slab can become a stage” – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture. – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture. Islam Elarabi built his own artistic vocabulary in neighborhood...On Friday, Jul 3, 2026
de 20h à 20h30
J4 / Auditorium
- Free
Chabana
DJ set
Open-air DJ-set on the roof terrace of Mucem J4!
A Franco-Egyptian DJ based in Marseilles, Chabana has been mixing between France and Egypt since the early 2000s. His set traces the evolution of mahraganat, from pioneering tracks to the most popular hits, worthy of the craziest weddings in Alexandria’s Max district or Cairo’s Salam City suburbs.On Friday, Jul 3, 2026
de 22h à 23h59
J4 / Flat roof
Full Moon, Toto
Marseille Festival
"Pleine Lune" brings together dancers and choreographers Toto (Mohamed Mahmud Mohamed Ibrahim) and Islam Elarabi for the first time around a shared passion: mahraganat.
A choreographic and musical aesthetic rejected by the establishment but wildly popular, transcended on stage by the dancers and choreographers who interweave their energy, expressive power and emotions to invent “an essential language of expression – organic, free and beautiful in its raw violence and truth”. Here, the alliance of mahraganat, martial arts and contemporary dance plunges the performers into a kind of bare-knuckle combat, where each competes with the other in...On Thursday, Jul 2, 2026
de 20h à 20h50
J4 / Auditorium
- Free
Workshop with Islam Elarabi and Toto
Marseille Festival
Egyptian dancers and choreographers Islam Elarabi and Mohamed Mahmud Mohamed Ibrahim, known as “Toto,” have developed their own choreographic vocabulary both at the working-class neighborhood festivals where mahraganat originated and at the Cairo Contemporary Dance Center, where they trained. In addition to their work as performers and choreographers, they are dedicated to passing on the art of mahraganat dance by leading workshops and classes in Egypt, France, and across Europe.On Wednesday, Jul 1, 2026
de 18h30 à 20h
J4 / Forum