The Qatar World Cup opening ceremony has been seeing a massive boycott in terms of entertainers who refused to perform.
No doubt BTS star Jungkook did a well-received performance but many declined to perform much in advance of the event.
One of them who has vehemently declined to perform is British singing sensation Dua Lipa. The 27-year-old posted on Instagram to her 87 million followers stating, “I will not be performing and have not been involved in any negotiations to perform in Qatar. 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 said.
Another famous singer who has appeared in several World Cups and who recently broke up with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique said that she is also sitting this one out in terms of performing. Shakira however wasn’t so forthcoming with her reason for not doing so.
The singer was the voice behind the Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) theme song of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Rod Stewart also declined, telling The Times that he was “offered a lot of money, over US$1 million, to play there 15 months ago” but he turned them down.
Stewart, 77 said “I refused. It’s not right to go,” stating that “respect for human rights in general” was the reason for his decision.
Qatar politics and policies against women, the LGBTQ+ community and migrants remains questionable. The oil rich nation’s laws are said to be oppressive especially in relation to women, homosexuals and the country has also been accused of human rights abuses against migrant workers.
The laws in the country advocate that women’s decisions be made by their male guardian whether it’s a father, brother or uncle and this includes whom to marry, where to study, travel, work and even in relation to reproductive health. Domestic abuse is also reportedly a big problem.
Homosexuality is illegal and people are often beaten, arrested and mistreated for being so according to a Human Rights Watch report.
In view of the above, many leading athletes, celebrities and entertainers around the world have decided to boycott the football tournament. However not all feel the same, there are some who prefer the big financial reward. Among them is former England footballer, David Beckham who is being heavily criticized for agreeing to work as ambassador for the Qatar World Cup.
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