Elton John

Defying the protests of a conservative religious party that sought to ban his performance, Elton John played a concert in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday night as the headliner of that nation’s largest music festival, Reuters reported. Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD), a fundamentalist Muslim organization, had complained that the appearance of Mr. John, who is gay, at the weeklong Mawazine World Rhythms Festival would reflect badly on the country and advocate homosexuality. “We’re a rather open party,” Mustapha Ramid, a PJD spokesman, told The Associated Press, “but promoting homosexuality is completely unacceptable.”

The festival’s organizers said Mr. John’s personal life was irrelevant, and the singer performed a show that was short on crowd banter but long on hits like “I’m Still Standing” and “Candle in the Wind.” Houda Sefriou, a concertgoer, told Reuters afterward, “It’s magical, just magical.”