Dua Lipa shuts down World Cup opening ceremony rumours with brutal message for Qatar

Dua Lipa has hit back at claims that she will perform at the opening ceremony of Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup.

There had been some speculation the British singer would be heading to the Middle East this month to kick off the celebrations for the football tournament.

However, the 'Don't Start Now' artist has hit back and called out Qatar’s human rights record.

She shared with her 87 million followers: "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 and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform.

"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."

The singer is currently in Australia as part of her Future Nostalgia tour.

Qatar pledged back in 2017 to fix several aspects of their society, according to Human Rights Watch.

They promised to improve wage protection, improve labor inspection and occupational safety and health, replace the kafala system with an employment contract system, prevent forced labor, and, promote workers’ voices.

The Middle Eastern country has been subject to heavy criticism in the lead-up to the World Cup over its treatment of migrant workers.

The Guardian reported that migrant workers had faced poor working conditions in the manufacturing of infrastructure and stadiums for the tournament, with at least 6,500 worker deaths as of February 2021.

A 75-page report by Equidem was also released last week, revealing that migrant workers were subject to discrimination, wage theft, overwork and workplace violence from their employers.

Lead researcher on the report Namrata Raju said: “Fans need to know how this came about, that the stadiums that they’re sitting in (were) built by workers, many of whom were in conditions of what we would call forced labour or other forms of modern slavery."

The Gulf country has also been condemned for its discriminatory policy around queer people.

Under the Penal Code 2004, same-sex couples could face several years of imprisonment.

While Qatar has said that LGBTQ+ fans are welcome during the tournament, they maintain that visitors should respect the nation’s culture, in which public displays of affection are frowned upon.

However, ambassador for the World Cup, Khalid Salman, recently told German public broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was a ‘damage in the mind’, according to AP News.

In October, many French cities revealed that they were refusing to screen the World Cup.

BBC News reported that Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Reims and Paris have announced that they will not set up screens in public places or ‘fan zones’ in protest.

According to the outlet, the mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, slammed the Qatar World Cup as ‘nonsense in terms of human rights, the environment and sport’.

LADbible has reached out to FIFA for comment.

Featured Image Credit: REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/Alamy. Sanjay JS / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: News, Sport, World Cup, Celebrity, Music, Football

Charisa Bossinakis

Charisa Bossinakis is an Associative Journalist at LADbible. Charisa has worked across various media platforms including, print, digital, radio and podcasting while maintaining the highest regard for quality work and integrity. She also covered everything from breaking news, to pop culture, entertainment and politics and is part of the editorial team for LADbible.

@CBossinakis