Several world stars have refused to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar and with two days to go it’s still unclear who will perform.
The most likely appearance will be Jungkook of K-pop megastars BTS, who was rumored to have arrived in Qatar as early as Friday.
The Brit Robbie Williams, who appeared at the last World Cup in Moscow, is also considered a possible participant.
But several musicians have made it clear they will not be performing, in protest at Doha’s human rights record, particularly with regard to LGBT rights.
-Rod Stewart-
The rock legend definitely rejected the organizers.
Stewart told the Times that 15 months ago he was “offered a lot of money, over $1 million to play there,” but turned it down.
“I declined. It’s not right to go,” said the 77-year-old British singer, adding that “respect for human rights in general” led to his decision.
-Dua Lipa-
The 27-year-old British star, who has a huge LGBT fan base, was also tapped for an appearance but she shut down the rumors in a post to her 87million Instagram followers.
“I will not be performing and have not been involved in negotiations to perform in Qatar,” the “Levitating” singer wrote, adding that she will be supporting England “from afar”.
“I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host,” she added.
– Shakira –
Another name to make an appearance was Shakira, a regular at previous World Cups while married to Spanish footballer Gerard Pique.
She was the voice of the 2010 edition in South Africa, along with local group Freshlyground, for the official theme “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” and performed in Brazil four years later.
But her team recently told Spanish news outlets that she will no longer perform in Qatar, without giving a specific reason.
– Little baby? –
US rapper Lil Baby, who has 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify, released one of the official sponsorship songs this year, “The World Is Yours to Take,” which features the Tears for Fears classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” samples.
However, he has not yet said whether he will actually appear in Qatar.
