Dua Lipa on Sunday shot down rumours that she is set to perform at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
“I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform,” the 27-year-old pop star wrote in an Instagram Story. “I will be cheering England on from afar and I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”
Qatar was awarded the FIFA World Cup in 2010 but the governing body only implemented a Human Rights Policy in 2017.
The Arab country denies basic rights to women, who can be required to obtain permission from male family members to marry, travel abroad and receive reproductive health care. It also has strict laws against premarital sex and consensual sex between men.
There are also laws governing expression and Qatar has a track record of detaining journalists.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Qatar failed to protect the migrant workers it used to build the infrastructure needed to host the World Cup. HRW said FIFA enabled “the widespread abuse workers suffered, including illegal recruitment fees, wage theft, injuries, and deaths.”
So far, the only artist confirmed for the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony is BTS member Jungkook. Lil Baby, Calvin Harris, Diplo and Toronto's Nora Fatehi are set to perform during the tournament, which runs Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Rod Stewart said it “would have been good” if he could have performed “The Killing of Georgie” – his 1976 song about the murder of a gay friend – at the opening ceremony but "it's not right to go."
Stewart said he turned down “a lot of money, over $1 million” to play a show in Qatar last year.
The FIFA World Cup airs in Canada on CTV and TSN (both part of Bell Media, parent company of this website).