Despite the protests, celebrities have their reasons for appearing at the World Cup | 24CA News

Just a number of days earlier than the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar, the British pop singer Dua Lipa took to Instagram to close down the rumours: She would not be performing on the opening ceremony as some had speculated.

“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,” she wrote.

Lipa is amongst a handful of celebrities who’ve spoken out in regards to the controversial determination to have Qatar host the worldwide soccer competitors. 

The nation has been criticized for its discriminatory stance in opposition to LGBTQ folks and for its therapy of the migrant employees who constructed a lot of its stadium infrastructure within the years main as much as the occasion. Qatar had vowed to be extra tolerant and to scrub up its migrant labour state of affairs. 

Britpop star Rod Stewart mentioned in a current interview that he had turned down over $1 million to carry out on the Cup.

“It’s not right to go,” he instructed The Times. 

But an excellent longer checklist of high-profile figures have chosen to look, some apparently seeing the video games as a chance to advertise a message of worldwide unity.

Singer and soccer fan Akon instructed TMZ he would not perceive the aim of a boycott, by followers on the whole, in opposition to the World Cup. 

“Me personally, I think everywhere you go in the world there’s different cultures, different way of living, different life standards,” he mentioned.

Indeed, a slew of musicians from Calvin Harris to Diplo to Canadian-Moroccan singer Nora Fatehi are set to carry out on the 2022 FIFA Fan Festival. Morgan Freeman appeared on the Cup’s opening ceremony on Nov. 20, as did Jung-Kook of the Okay-pop supergroup BTS. 

Nicki Minaj, Colombian singer Maluma, and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares collaborated on the World Cup official anthem, Tukoh Taka.

And David Beckham was paid a reported $241 million US for serving as considered one of Qatar’s superstar ambassadors. 

Working for a sporting mega-event just like the World Cup or Olympics can definitely be extremely profitable. When there’s a lot cash concerned, celebrities can rationalize something, says Tim Elcombe, an affiliate professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.

“But then you also see celebrities using this as an opportunity to challenge and critique what’s going on,” mentioned Elcombe, who researches the intersection of sports activities, politics and tradition. 

“Because there’s this culture, particularly within the arts, of artists being politically engaged and politically involved.”

The presence of stars can divert consideration away from any transgressions by the host nation. 

It’s what some folks name “sportswashing,” mentioned Lorraine York, a professor of English and cultural research at McMaster University in Hamilton.

“Like celebrity itself, these events are instances of heightened visibility, heightened social visibility, and so they become also ways in which nations project images of themselves,” mentioned York. 

Justin Bieber, for instance, carried out at a Formula One race in Saudi Arabia regardless of calls from followers, and even an open letter from slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s spouse, to drop out. The Saudi regime was implicated in Khashoggi’s demise. 

Some celebrities see their artwork as present exterior of the political realm, York mentioned. 

“And then other celebrities [are saying] no, no, that these are political decisions that one makes.”

Beckham, for example, final month known as the Qatar World Cup a “platform for progress.”

Alexandra Nikolajev, a famous sports activities and tradition commentator on TikTok, says some celebrities have a “saviour complex” that drives them to be concerned in a very contentious occasion — as a result of they need to be a bridge between divided events.

“They feel like [with] their presence, there is a representation of bringing the world together or opening up those channels of conversation and uniting people,” mentioned Nikolajev.