World Cup Qatar: The singers and stars taking a stand as the tournament looms – Independent.ie
Dua Lipa is the latest artist to confirm that she will not be playing a gig at or attending the World Cup in Qatar, which gets underway this Sunday.
ua issued a statement on Sunday confirming she would not be performing in Qatar, after a “lot of speculation” that the Londoner would play a concert there.
She joins a growing list of celebrities and sports stars to confirm they will not be attending the event in protest at the host Gulf state.
“There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar. I will not be performing…nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform,” Dua said, adding she will be “cheering England on from afar”.
“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,” she added.
It comes as Rod Stewart confirmed he turned down more than $1m to play a gig in the country and even said Iran should not be allowed take part after supplying arms to Russia.
“I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1m, to play there 15 months ago,” he told the Sunday Times.
“I turned it down. It’s not right to go. And the Iranians should be out too for supplying arms,” he said in the interview released yesterday.
Qatar has come in for criticism from across the globe for its stance on LGBTQ rights and the abuse of migrant workers – of whom up to 6,500 have died according to some reports, as they built the infrastructure to host the tournament since Qatar won the contract in 2010.
FIFA has been condemned in recent days for issuing a letter to all 32 competing teams, asking players to “let football take the stage” and not focus on political issues at the tournament.
Both Wales and England have committed to wearing rainbow armbands during matches as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
World Cup-winning German captain Philip Lahm confirmed he will not attend the event in any capacity over the host nation’s record on rights issues, as banners calling for a boycott of the event have become a regular feature at Bundesliga games in recent weeks.
Earlier today, comedian Joe Lycett also issued a unique ultimatum to David Beckham.
Beckham reportedly signed a contract for £10m to act as an ambassador for the World Cup and Lycett has asked him to return the money or risk losing his status as a “gay icon”.
Lycett set up a website titled ‘benderslikebeckham’, saying Beckham was a “gay icon” for being the first footballer to do photoshoots with gay magazines and marrying a Spice Girl, “which is the gayest thing a human being can do”.
He called on the former player to step back from the deal and if he does, Lycett will donate £10,000 to charities that work in the realm of LGBTQ rights within football.
If not, Lycett said he will shred the money on a livestream broadcast on his newly-created website just before the opening ceremony of the tournament begins at midday on Sunday.
“Not just the money, but your reputation as a gay icon will be shredded,” Lycett said in a video posted on social media on Monday.