Shakira is the Latest Celeb To Refuse Multi-Million Dollar Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup Deal as Other A-List Celebs Call Out Country’s ‘Ideals and Values’ as Reason Behind Boycott
The FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar is already garnering controversies before it’s even started. The opening ceremony of the much-coveted sporting event is set to take place on November 20, but politics is catching up to the entertainment world as well. Ever since it was declared that Qatar is going to be the place to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there have been criticisms and questions about the Middle Eastern country’s human rights issue. For this reason, several artists who were invited to perform in the opening ceremony declined the offer, and Shakira is the latest artist to join the list.
Shakira says no to performing at the World Cup opening ceremony
Shakira and the World Cup have a long history. Her 2010 song Waka Waka is almost unanimously considered the most popular and the greatest official World Cup song ever. But it wasn’t meant to be this time for Qatar. The Columbian singer has changed her mind on very short notice with the opening ceremony only days away, as per reports from El programa de Ana Rosa. A contributor on the show, Adriana Dorronsoro said,
“It’s been confirmed to me that Shakira will not perform at the opening ceremony, but they won’t say if she will have another role throughout the World Cup.”
Another contributor, Sandra Aladro further added what she had heard from the 45-year-old singer’s entourage.
“They have confirmed that she won’t be performing… She was going to be a guest performer, now she will have to send a statement to explain everything.”
Shakira is also going through an upheaval in her personal life, having just won custody of her kids and planning to move with them to Miami. Anyhow, she is hardly the first artist to have turned down the offer to perform at the ceremony.
Celebrities who stood with human rights against World Cup in Qatar
Other major artists who have politely yet clearly declined the lucrative offer are Dua Lipa and Rod Stewart. For the Levitating singer, it was not even a matter of negotiation. She took to Instagram to address speculations about her performance and cleared the air.
“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. One Love, Dua”.
Similarly, Rod Stewart shared his stance.
“They offered me a huge amount of money, over a million dollars for the performance, but I turned it down because I don’t think it’s right to go to a country with those ideas and values. I also think the Iranians should also stop supplying them with weapons.”
Meanwhile, the artists who have agreed, and will be performing at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 opening ceremony are J. Balvin, Robbie Williams, Jason Derulo, Clean Bandit, Sean Paul, Nora Fatehi, Black Eyed Peas, Jungkook of BTS, Nicki Minaj, Maluma, and Myriam Fares.
