Festival au Désert

The Festival au désert (Festival in the Desert) was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world between 2001 and 2012. It was founded and directed by Manny Ansar, and attracted thousands of visitors, bringing a huge boost to the economy.

The first festival took place in 2001 in Tin Essako, then in Tessalit in 2002, and in Essakane from 2003 to 2009. From 2010 to 2012 it was held on the outskirts of Timbuktu. After an incursion of Timbuktu by Islamist militants in 2012, the festival was postponed, and has not been held since then since then due to security concerns.

Several film documentaries have been made about or at the festival: Le Festival au Désert (2004), Dambé: The Mali Project (2008), The Last Song Before the War (2013), and Woodstock in Timbuktu (2013). The album Festival au Desert Live from Timbuktu (2013) has performances from the 2012 festival.

From 2013, a collaborative venture known "Caravane culturelle de la paix" has toured various countries. This was created by Ansar along with the directors of two other festivals, the Malian Festival sur le Niger, and the Moroccan Festival Taragalte.

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