Festival du Desert
 

Used to attract thousands of westerners, this year a few dozen.
http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/DEPAFP20120115165946/]Mali : à Tombouctou, un festival avec la star Bono fait oublier Al-Qaïda
Two brigades are on alert, outnumbering the tourists.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=50009

Yeah, bumped into a few travellers in Ouaga and Bamako that were planning on attending the event as they were already in the region but it didn't seem to be many people, if any that were travelling down specifically for the event, as would have been the case in previous years.

As was noted in a previous thread, the reported €320 cost of a ticket might be as big a reason to avoid the festival as much as fear of running into AQIM - or Bono...!

:gun_bandana::online2long:

The fistival really didn't happen.
 

The festival was shifted to a town south of Tombuctu and held 4 or 5 days earlier than advertised. Too bad for the people who were heading there for the later date!
Persistence.

Persistence:
The festival really did happen.
Shifted to a town south of Timboctou, really? Which town would that be?
Held 4-5 days earlier????

Here a brief reprot from a friend who attended the festival:
"Festival was really special. Such an on the edge situation in so many respects. Music was sensational, especially a woman Noura Mint Seymali WOW. Plenty of tom foolery and of course a BIG military presence. Felt strange on the Saturday night, as if they were looking in as much as out!!!, and of course they were. Timbuktu town was laden in armoured cars and I was happy but sad to fly out of the north, sad of course knowing what was most likely to come."

BTW how was it travelling through Mauritania as a woman?

Probably that is a reference to the Festival Ali Farka Touré, held in Niafunké 5-8 January.

Oh yes there was a festival, sort of.

Would that have been the London banker who flew down with his private jet? :)

what's your point?
:blushing:

festival au desert.
 

i was at festival,with my motorbike,i think i was the only person with the bike!i put my bike on a pinasse with no extra charde from Mopti .took two nights.
worked at the festival as volunteer.and ride back to south towards to Dogon as everyoneelse went the same way i beleive.the road ws bad,had one flat tyre,but it was ok at the end.they changed the name of the place where the other bikers got kidnapped.quite sad!
Veysel

So what is the place called now?