Dua Lipa denies involvement in World Cup opening ceremony, calls on Qatar to fulfill human rights pledges
Dua Lipa has no involvement with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Grammy winner shut down speculation that she had been tapped to perform at the opening ceremony in the host country of Qatar. Lipa also called on Qatar to fulfill its human rights pledges amid allegations of abuse against migrant workers and other human rights violations.
"There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar," she wrote in an Instagram Story shared Sunday. "I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiations to perform."
Lipa said she would be "cheering England on from afar" and looked forward to visiting Qatar "when it has fulfilled all of its human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host" the international soccer competition, which kicks off Nov. 20.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Dua Lipa denies involvement in World Cup opening ceremony and calls on Qatar to fulfill human rights pledges
BTS' Jung Kook has been tapped to perform at the opening ceremony, the band shared in a statement last week. The South Korean singer will also be featured in the World Cup soundtrack.
World Cup organizers have faced ongoing criticisms surrounding allegations of corruption and abuse against migrant workers from Africa and Asia employed to construct new stadiums for the event in the country, including nationality-based discrimination, unpaid wages, and exposure to unsafe workplace conditions that have resulted in thousands of deaths, per USA Today.
Qatar was chosen as the site for the 2022 World Cup in 2010, becoming the first country in the Middle East to host the tournament. International scrutiny surrounding the human rights violations prompted the country to enact labor reforms, but reports have maintained that the abuses have remained the same, prompting activists and other officials to call for a boycott of the tournament.
Dua Lipa/Instagram Dua Lipa denies 2022 World Cup involvement
Earlier this month, FIFA urged World Cup teams to "focus on" the sport and "please do not allow" it "to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists." As for Lipa's home team, England's manager Gareth Southgate previously said of the controversy, "We have always spoken about issues we think should be talked about, particularly the ones we feel we can affect."
"Contrary to one or two observations in the last few weeks, we have spoken in the same way other nations have spoken about this tournament, the human rights challenges," Southgate continued. "We've been very clear on our standpoint on that."
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