With the biggest sporting event of the year around the corner, many celebrities are declining to perform in the opening ceremony of the grand event on 20th November. Big names like Dua Lipa, Rob Stewart, and now Shakira have declined the possibility due to several issues concerning human rights violations and other factors.

Fans were expecting her to perform when celebrities like Dua Lipa and Rob Stewart declined. However, Spanish journalist Braco Segovia recently confirmed that Shakira’s team had declined any possibility of her performing in the FIFA event.

Thus, the event seems to be surrounded by problems.

Shakira and FIFA connection

Apart from her hit single ‘Waka Waka’, Shakira has performed in three FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies. It started with the 2006 Germany World Cup, followed by the 2010 World Cup performance where she had the audience dancing to her hit song ‘Hips don’t lie’.

She had also performed in the 2014 World Cup with several renowned pop stars like Jennifer Lopez, Claudia Leitte, and Pitbull. 

Why are celebrities declining?

There are various concerns of everyone when it comes to Qatar hosting the World Cup. Many celebrities are declining due to the stand of the country against the LGBTQ+ community and hostile work conditions. Qatar has invested an estimated 220 Billion USD in the FIFA World cup. 

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This was done in order to build and maintain ample infrastructure to be able to host the mega event. These are two main reasons for celebrities declining to perform in FIFA 2022.

This BTS member is confirmed to perform at the event!

Although watching the list of artists declining to perform, fans are hoping some big names to appear on the stage. BTS member Jungkook is confirmed to perform at the event. This news brought relief and joy to K-pop and soccer fans all around the globe. Jungkook is performing along with ‘take that’ member Robbie Williams. Other artists to have confirmed appearances are Sean Paul and Clean Bandit.

Qatar World Cup is about to be the biggest sporting event of the year. With several names appearing and several boycotting the event, every soccer fan is waiting for the beginning of the group stage so that they can watch their favorite team and player in action. 

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