The largest theater in Africa has been waiting to open since 2021

Rabat – The building of the new theater in Morocco's Rabat, which is reportedly the largest of its kind on the African continent, has been waiting for three years to begin operations. This is reported today by the newspaper Le Monde. The building was structurally completed in 2021, but no performances have taken place there for unclear reasons. The new theater building in Casablanca is experiencing a similar fate, being non-functional several years after construction was completed.

The Grand Theatre building, designed by the studio of renowned architect Zaha Hadid, was supposed to become a pride of the Moroccan capital and a symbol of its prosperity. Construction work finished in 2021, and since then, the Moroccan press, which describes the building as the largest of its kind in Africa, has speculated when the complex, which includes a hall with 2,000 seats, will begin operating. The construction of the new theater cost about 200 million euros (approximately five billion crowns).

A similar fate has also befallen the new theater building in Casablanca, which is the most populous city in Morocco. Construction began in 2014, finished several years later, and cost approximately 130 million euros (3.25 billion crowns). However, this building still does not host theatrical performances either.

The costs of building both buildings significantly exceeded the budget. However, according to Le Monde, the problem does not seem to lie there. According to local politicians who spoke with the French newspaper, the main obstacle is finding a purpose for both theaters. "As is often the case in Morocco, we build buildings and think that the walls are important, not what happens between them," said an unnamed city council member in Casablanca.