The opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar will take place tomorrow amidst the mystery due to the scant official information and after a series of controversial rejections by international artists.
The traditional event that precedes the opening match will begin at 11 in Argentina, two hours before the World Cup ball rolls for the first time in the Middle East, and will be televised by Public TV and Directv Sports.
The gates of the Al Bayt stadium in the town of Al Khor, located 35 kilometers north of Doha, will open four hours before kick-off.
The local Supreme Organization Committee and FIFA have not yet officially announced the details of the ceremony, but in the days leading up to it, controversy has already been generated by the response of renowned international artists who wanted to break away from the host country.
The other absentee in the protocol act will be the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, who sent his vice president, Alfredo Borrero, to represent him.
The first to get off was the British Dua Lipa, who expressed herself on her social networks to deny her presence in Qatar.
“I hope to visit Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights promises it made when it won the right to host the World Cup,” the singer said.
Later, the historical Rod Stewart revealed that he received a million-dollar offer but rejected it since it did not seem “correct” to appear in Qatar.
Finally, the Colombian Shakira, present in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014, made it clear through her entourage that she was not going to be part of the party either.
Therefore, the only confirmed artist, so far, is Jungkook, one of the members of the South Korean band BTS.
With the casualties of these renowned artists, speculation began about the possible presence of the Black Eyed Peas, Robbie Williams and the Colombian Maluma.
The renowned Latin artist will be on Saturday at the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha’s Al Bidda Park.
Maluma will launch the song “Tukoh Taka” together with the Lebanese singer Myriam Fares, which will be the anthem of the FIFA Fan Festival.
Said stage will have a varied agenda of artists that will begin on December 19 and end on December 12.
Diplo, Kizz Daniel, Nora Fatehi, Julian Marley, Trinidad Cardona and Calvin Harris will be some of the musicians performing during the Fan Festival.