Rod Stewart says he turned down something near £1million to perform at the Qatar World Cup, which starts Nov. 20.
“It’s not right,” said Stewart about the soccer tournament that begins Sunday.
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The sports event, which occurs every four years, begins in the capitol city of Doha as the country’s human rights record and homophobic history come under fire. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Further, World Cup officials and FIFA, the sport’s ruling body, are hearing the outcry regarding the death of a migrant worker during the building of local stadiums.
Earlier Due Lipa shot down whispers that she was going to play at the tournament’s opening ceremony and herself criticized the country saying it should “fulfill all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”
Now Stewart has made his thoughts known, saying he also turned down the chance to play the soccer festivities.
“I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1 million, 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 the arms.”
England manager Gareth Southgate said his country’s team would be outspoken, “We have always spoken about issues we think should be talked about, particularly the ones we feel we can affect.” He continued, “Regarding the LGBT community, we stand for inclusivity and we are very, very strong on that. We think that is important in terms of all our supporters.”
BTS’ Jung Kook confirmed his intention to play in the opening ceremony, as well as be a part of the World Cup’s soundtrack.
The K-Pop group’s official Twitter page posted, “Proud to announce that Jung Kook is part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Soundtrack & will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony. Stay tuned!”
Photo by Jeremy Chan photography/Getty Images
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