The festival provides a platform for exchanges and a meeting point of music and dialogue between foreign artists and the mystical Gnaoua (also Gnawa) musicians. In this melting-pot of musical fusion, the Gnaoua masters invite players of jazz, pop, rock and contemporaryWorld music to explore new avenues. The festivals see up to 500,000 visitors every year over four days, many of the performances can be viewed for free, which complicates comparison with other festivals.