The Tabarka Jazz Festival, a renowned international event which was to be held from August 11 to 19 in northwestern Tunisia, has been canceled for lack of sufficient public subsidies, its organizers announced on Thursday. “Unfortunately, despite our sustained efforts, the lack and inadequacy of subsidies from the Ministries of Tourism and Culture make it impossible to organize the festival under the conditions that deserve its international fame,” they wrote. on their Facebook account.
Tunisia, strangled by a debt equivalent to 80% of its GDP, is plunged into a financial and liquidity crisis which has worsened in recent months. The Tunisian state must repay large installments of external credits in the coming months and has not yet managed to complete the financing of its budget for 2023, according to several economists.
The festival organized in the town of Tabarka, not far from the border with Algeria, was to bring together “world-renowned artists, such as Bette Smith, Big Daddy Wilson, Madison McFerrin, John Shannon, and many others”. The organizers expressed “their deep sadness” for the cancellation of an “emblematic event” which was to celebrate its 50th anniversary during this edition. They stressed that a press conference would take place “soon” to provide “more details” on the reasons for this cancellation and “the prospects for future editions of the Festival”.