Dua lipa denies reports that she will perform at Sunday’s Fifa Men’s World Cup opening ceremony, Qatar.
She stated that she would “look forward” to visiting Qatar once it has fulfilled all its human rights promises.
Qatar’s stance on homosexual relationships, human rights records and treatment of migrants have been criticised.
Other acts include Robbie Williams, and BTS’s Jung Kook.
The Guardian reported that 6,500 migrants from India, Pakistan and Nepal had died in Qatar after the World Cup bid was won.
The Qatar government claims that the total is misleading because not all deaths were due to people who worked on World Cup-related projects.
Lipa shared an Instagram story Sunday that read: “There is currently much speculation that I will perform at the opening ceremony for the World Cup Qatar.”
“I will not perform and I have never been involved in any negotiations to perform.
“I will cheer England on from far… One love, Dua.”
Lipa was born in London to Kosovar–Albanian parents. She is not the first big name to avoid playing in Qatar.
Sir Rod Stewart revealed recently that he declined the chance.
“I was offered over $1m to play there 15 month ago. It was rejected by me. He said, “It’s not right to leave,” to the Sunday Times.
“And the Iranians [football] should be out [of World Cup] also for supplying weapons”, he said, referring to Iran’s supply to Russia of explosive drones, which Iran denies.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia was expelled from all competitions under Fifa and Uefa.
However, other musical acts such as the US pop/rap group Black Eyed Peas or J Balvin from Colombia will also be performing at events in Qatar during this tournament.
Comedy stand-up Joe Lycett has given an ultimatum for Qatar World Cup ambassador David Beckham.
Lycett has pledged to donate PS10,000 of his money to charity if Beckham ends the multimillion-pound deal with Qatar.
The country has made homosexuality illegal and can punish same-sex couples with the death penalty.
Lycett threatened to destroy the PS10,000 if the former footballer does not agree. This threat was made just before the World Cup opening ceremony.
Lycett claims Beckham’s “status of a gay icon” is also at risk if he does not end his relationship to Qatar.
David Beckham was contacted by the BBC for comment. His management replied that they were not commenting at this moment.
Beckham was urged to speak out about the criminalization of same-sex relationships in Qatar.
A source close to David said to BBC last year that he wanted to be informed about all facts and concerns he may have regarding his gay friends, football fans, and supporters.
“While some laws and beliefs may differ from his, the Qataris have always maintained that everyone is safe and welcomed at the World Cup 2022. He believes that this commitment is sincere. The World Cup organisers have shown evidence of their proactive engagement with the international LBGTQ community.”
After it was revealed that Khalid Salman , Qatar World Cup ambassador had called homosexuality “damage in mind”, the story made national headlines last week.
Human Rights Watch deemed the comments of former Qatar international “harmful” and “unacceptable”.
Rasha Younes (LGBT rights senior researcher at Human Rights Watch) stated that “The failure by the Qatari government against this false information has had a significant effect on the lives LGBT residents of Qatar. It ranges from fuelling discrimination, violence against them, to justifying their being subject to state-sponsored conversion practices.”
Organisers claim that no one will be discriminated against for coming to the tournament.
Beckham’s ex-teammate from England and Manchester United Gary Neville was recently a guest presenter on the BBC’s long-running topical news quiz Have You Got News For You. He was asked by Ian Hislop about his decision to travel to Qatar for commentating on the World Cup.
Neville stated, “My view has always been that you either highlight these issues and challenge in these countries and talk about them or you don’t say anything and stay home and don’t go.” “I have always believed that we should challenge them.”
Hislop responded, “There’s another choice – you can stay at home and highlight abuses.”
