Their names have been circulated, but Shakira, Dua Lipa, The Cure and Rod Stewart confirm they will not perform at the World Cup: ‘I don’t feel comfortable’

British star Dua Lipa has apparently distanced herself from the World Cup, saying she is looking forward to visiting Qatar “when it fulfills all its human rights promises”. Robert Smith of the legendary British band The Cure had previously dashed the hopes of his fans by saying that the band members “will not perform at the opening ceremony despite the rumours”. As old hand Rod Stewart (77) said he lost more than a million euros: “It is not right to go to a country with these ideas and values.”

Fortunately for FIFA and the Qataris, there are also artists whose conscience does not play much. For example, the organizers hope to attract Asian fans to Jungkook, a 25-year-old singer from the South Korean K-pop group BTS. The Black Eyed Peas, Nicki Minaj, pop group Maroon 5, Jason Derulo, Deejay Diplo and singer Post Malone flew in from the US. To entice the rest of the world, invitations were also extended to Colombian singers J Balvin and Maluma, Nigerian Kiz Daniel, Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi and Jamaican R&B singer Sean Paul.

It’s not clear who exactly will be performing during the opening ceremony on Sunday. Many artists perform in concert halls or hotels during the World Cup, such as Robbie Williams at the Doha Golf Club, as well as DJs Calvin Harris and Craig David.(tdl)