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In the 1990s, the legendary Michael Jackson embarked on his HIStory World Tour, his third and final solo concert tour, aiming to perform across the globe. The ambitious tour spanned five continents – Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Africa – with 82 concerts in 53 countries. For his African stop, Michael Jackson chose Morocco, specifically the vibrant city of Casablanca.
According to an article published earlier that year by MTV, Michael Jackson's Casablanca concert was planned for September 1996. The King of Pop even traveled to Morocco in July of that year to promote the upcoming concert. A short video captures this visit, showing Michael Jackson exploring the coastal city, surrounded by fans and accompanied by heavy security.
The roughly two-minute video shows Michael Jackson sporting his signature outfit: a black hat, a double-buttoned red shirt, black trousers with a gold braided belt, sunglasses, and his hair down. The video description indicates that Jackson's visit took place on July 21, 1996, just three months before his planned concert.
The video opens with Michael Jackson visiting Casablanca's architectural gem, the King Hassan II Mosque. He is then greeted by a group of people playing traditional Moroccan music. The scene cuts to cheering fans, with a teenager shouting «I love you Michael!» The video also shows the American singer visiting Mohammed V Stadium, possibly to assess the venue for his concert.
Sadly, a month later in August 1996, Michael Jackson's Moroccan fans received disappointing news. MTV and Reuters, citing Morocco's then-private television channel 2M, reported that the Casablanca concert had been canceled.
«Moroccan authorities did not approve Michael Jackson's show and offered no explanation for their decision», reported 2M. The station speculated that «fears of gathering more than 100,000 young people could be one of the motives behind the authorities' decision».
The HIStory World Tour proceeded without a stop in Morocco. Instead, Michael performed in Tunis, in october of 1996, for the African leg of the tour.
