Spain Transfers Historic Cervantes Theater in Tangier to Morocco

The Gran Teatro Cervantès, one of the cultural centers of the city of Tangier belonging to Spain, will return to Morocco as of March 1st, as indicated in the Official State Gazette (BOE) published this Saturday. The center’s assets will be transferred to Morocco, after the agreement obtained in 2019.

The ownership of the center has been modified "taking into account the historical and friendly relations" between the two countries, it is specified in the official journal, which emphasizes that the Moroccan government has also committed to maintaining the center. The question that remains is whether the center, once transferred to Morocco, will still be dedicated to the promotion of Spanish culture.

According to the agreement, the Moroccan government will have to "restore the building in its entirety, respecting the original architecture", within a maximum period of three years, "bear all the costs of restoration, renovation, management and maintenance", maintain the name of the place and promote Moroccan and Spanish cultures. The Moroccan and Spanish governments have decided to set up a joint commission to oversee the implementation of this agreement.

The theater opened its doors in 1913 and has been considered for decades the largest and best known in North Africa. In the 1950s, it attracted renowned artists who performed for the multicultural population living in Tangier, a city then under the administration of the United Nations (predecessor of the UN). But from the 1970s onwards, the theater’s reputation began to decline and it is now in a state of disrepair.