Egyptian artist Mohamed Ramadan announced his exclusion from performing at the closing musical ceremony of the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations, planned to be held at the Rabat stadium in the Moroccan capital, less than 24 hours before the event. This incident sparked widespread controversy on social media.
Ramadan, in a video he posted on his official Instagram account, said that he was initially scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony, before being later informed that his participation would be moved to the closing event, on the pretext of a "campaign" that opposed his performance at the opening because he is an Egyptian artist. He added, "They told me there's a campaign asking how an Egyptian could sing at the opening of a tournament in Morocco? But I am African, and this is a continental African tournament; still, I accepted the decision at that time without objection."
The artist stated that he was surprised, just a day before the event, by a halt in communication from the organizing party. He tried to inquire from the responsible official in Morocco, only to receive a reply that included a strange video of the media person Amr Adib discussing a sports-related issue, irrelevant to either the art or the ceremony, saying, "They sent me a very strange video of Amr Adib talking about a problem between two coaches.. What does this have to do with me? And what does art have to do with it?"
Mohamed Ramadan emphasized that this incident represents an offensive individual action by certain individuals, stressing that it should not be attributed to a country as significant as Morocco or its official institutions, expressing his disappointment at not receiving any apology or official clarification until the last moments.
Despite the disappointment, Mohamed Ramadan confirmed that the incident would not affect his relationship with Morocco, saying that his love and appreciation for the Moroccan people and their leadership are "firm and unchanging," and that the offense is only due to specific individuals, not affecting the relations between the Egyptian and Moroccan peoples.
